Push and Pull
by SparksStar39
Summary: Fratie. When Katie Bell gives up on any meaningful relationship, can Fred show her that she can still love, and not get hurt? Fred Weasley Katie Bell FWKB Rated T for teen! Please R
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**** Hello everyone! This story will have both Katie ****_and _Fred's POVs. Drop me a review and tell me what you think, I appreciate it!**

Peeking my head around the corner, I checked to make sure the coast was clear. I shot a glance over my shoulder, and thankfully no one was in sight. I stepped back into the shadows and pulled a folded up piece of parchment that appeared to be blank from my robes. Taking out my wand, I pointed it over the folds.

"_I solemnly swear I am up to no good." _I whispered. Hearing the words, the blank parchment started to show words and inside, a map. I smiled to myself and unfolded the map. I looked down and spotted Snape's footsteps rounding the corner in a nearby hallway, making his way closer to where George and I stationed ourselves. My smile soon disappeared as I saw another set of footsteps right behind me.

I panicked and looked up to see a second year Gryffindor—Katie Bell, I think her name was. She looked startled to see me hiding in the shadows, and opened her mouth to speak. I glanced down at the map again to see that Snape was due to be in the hallway at any given moment.

"What are you doi—" Panicked, I clamped my hand down over her mouth and pulled her back into the shadows. I spun her around so that she was behind me pushed up against the wall, and I was covering her completely. Even for a second year the girl was rather small, and I grinned mischievously down at her. Her frightened eyes met mine and I almost felt bad for the girl. With the wand in my hand, I made a gesture to show that she should be quiet. I gave her a brief smile, and she nodded her agreement.

Slowly I removed my hand from her mouth and she looked at me confusedly. I glanced quickly down at the map, and Snape was just about to step into the hall.

"Oi, George!" I shouted in a hushed manner down the corridor. I saw his head pop out from behind some curtains. I gave him the thumbs up, and he nodded his understanding. I popped back in the shadows after seeing Snape round the corner, coming into view.

I suppressed laughing when I saw George's smirking face. Suddenly a bright flash of colors flashed before Snape in an array of rainbows. He scowled at them confusedly, but then it turned into anger when the shoots of light began to fly at him. The flashes of rainbow stuck onto Snape, appearing like sticky tattoos all over his skin. Snape hissed something underneath his breath and tried to shake off the attacking rainbows, but to no avail.

I grinned at George and I's accomplishment, and I had almost forgotten about the girl behind me when I hear her giggle.

Panicking again I swung around and clamped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened again and she stood still, not even bothering to move. I slowly released my hand again and peeked out to Snape who was busy looking around for the Charms set upon him.

I suppressed laughing again when I saw George peek his head out. Grinning wickedly at Snape, he stuck his tongue out behind his back and made a face at our potions professor. I rolled my eyes and grinned at my twin brother.

Snape spun around, but not fast enough, for George had already retreated back into his hiding place. I chuckled under my breath and looked back down at the confused Gryffindor girl pushed up against the stone wall.

She was small, even so for a little second year. George and I were in our third year at Hogwarts, and even back in our first year we hadn't been that short. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and her big brown eyes looked around confusedly. She just seemed so _tiny_, even for a girl. I wasn't the tallest guy in school, but I was at least a head taller than this fragile little girl.

I peeked down at the map in my hand and heard footsteps draw closer behind me. I shoved the map back into my robes along with my wand. My heart pounded against my chest, afraid of being caught by our evil professor. The girl looked frightened at being caught and her scared eyes met mine once again. I smiled, but it quickly disappeared when I heard Snape's voice.

"Weasley number _one, _I presume?" Snape spat out. I turned around to face my professor, knowing very well I had been caught red handed.

"Why, professor Snape, only _you _could tell Georgie and I apart from the back of our heads." I laughed with a goofy grin on my face. I looked at my professor who was covered head to toe in tie-dye streaks, with the occasional streak of glitter here and there. Snape did _not _look amused.

I gulped when I heard a giggle escape from behind me. What was this girl _doing_? No one laughed at Snape, except for George and I that is. She must be mental.

Snape pushed me aside to come face to face with the small second year Gryffindor. He sneered down at the tiny girl before him, and she gulped, a smile still on her face. I felt strangely protective over the tiny, fragile little girl before me, and I spoke up.

"Professor, she had nothing to do with it, you see—"

"Mr. Weasley, please, _shut up._" I nodded my head stupidly and glanced warily between the girl and my professor. "Miss Bell, I did not expect this from _you_." Her big brown eyes looked up innocently at him.

"What did I do, professor?" She batted her lashes a few times and smiled.

Snape didn't even seem phased by it. "Fifteen points from Gryffindor _each_, Miss Bell, Weasley number one," Snape looked behind him, and my eyes locked onto where George was hiding. "Weasley number _two, _you as well. Come out now."

George reluctantly stepped out from hiding and hung his head. I could see a grin on his face. "Sorry professor Snape."

I glanced up at Snape. "Weasel, shut _up._ You and I both know bloody well that you're not sorry."

George popped his head up to look at Snape. He had a huge grin on his face. "Aw, professor, I'm touched. You know me too well."

Snape's glare deepened, and he turned to face the girl and I. It was nothing new that George and I constantly lost House points for Gryffindor, but it seemed highly unlikely for someone like the girl before me to do so. She seemed like the type of kid who would _earn_ points for Gryffindor, not have them taken away.

Snape tried to brush off some of the mess we made from his black robes. "Detention for a week you three. My office, _now_." And with that, the grease ball turned on his heel to walk away. George just shrugged and I walked over to him. I glanced back at the girl who stood there for a moment, shocked at Snape's words, and finally scuttled over to catch up with George and I.

The walk to Snape's office was silent and uneventful, and we passed Lee Jordan on the way. He rolled his eyes, and George and I just grinned. Lee cocked an eyebrow when he spotted a third person walking behind us, and I just shrugged. He shook his head and went back to what he was doing.

Finally the four of us arrived at Snape's office. He went to sit down at his desk, and George and I made ourselves at home in some chairs that were in front of his over sized desk. George and I glanced back at the girl who shyly made her way over to a chair and sat down timidly.

None of us spoke, and Snape just glared. "I expect this from _you two idiots_, but not _you, _Miss Bell. You three will take this week's detention to work on your potions assignments. Merlin knows the three of you _need _it." George and I just laughed, but the small girl just blushed.

I leaned back into the chair, head in hands. "Is that all, professor?"

"Yeah, apparently we've got some potions homework to work on." I flashed a smile at my brother.

Snape sighed and stared back at us, completely unamused. "You three may leave now. I assume you can find the door to the classroom?"

George and I just shrugged and rose, with the girl following close behind us.

Once outside of Snape's office, we stepped into the classroom. I burst out laughing and George joined in. The girl just sat down in the back of the room quietly, looking down at the desk. Still laughing, George and I made our way over to the quiet girl. George took a chair, turned it around and sat facing her and I sat on top of a desk next to her. She rose her eyebrows at us, but kept quiet.

"Hello darling," George drawled out. He was batting his lashes at her and she blushed. "now what's a pretty thing like you doing in detention with us?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "You should know. Your brother got me in here." Ah, so she wasn't so shy after all. _And _she could tell the difference between us. Impressive.

"Yes, which brings me to my _next _question." George turned to face me now. "How _did _she get in here, brother?"

I shrugged, and leaned back on the desks. "She was just walking around, and I couldn't get her ruining our plans for Snape." I smiled, thinking back to how ridiculous Snape looked.

The girl snorted. "Right, 'cuz that worked out _so _well."

My brow rose at her. Sassy little thing she was. "Now, now, let's play nice. It's just detention."

"Something I assume you two are all too familiar with."

George laughed and I scowled. "Well, it's not all that bad. Snape's detentions are far better than Filch's. We caught him on a _good _day. He hardly ever gives us study detentions." I nodded at George. This was true.

"It _is _bad, I've never had detention before." She huffed and crossed her arms defiantly across her chest.

George sniggered as I rolled my eyes. "Come on, love, now it can't be _horrible_. After all, you have George and I here to keep you company." Together the two of us flashed her our best smiles, and she giggled. She knew I was right—I had done my best to keep her safe from Snape.

"Well, okay. I suppose you're right." She smiled shyly up at me, then over to George.

"So what's your name, dear?"

"Katie Bell." She looked over to George. "And you're George Weasley." This time she looked up at me and gave a smile. "And that makes _you _Fred."

George and I glanced at each other and furrowed our brows to the girl. "How'd you know?" Only a few people could tell us apart like this. Snape being one of them.

Katie giggled and leaned forward in her seat, propping herself up on her elbows. "Well, for starters, Fred has higher cheekbones than you." George's hands immediately went up to touch his cheeks, and I laughed. Katie looked up at me. "And _you _usually speak and act first. George is usually quieter." I scowled at this and it was George's turn to laugh. This girl _was _strange.

"Ah, so do Georgie and I have a little _stalker_?"

Katie blushed and made a face at me. I laughed. "_No_, but you two are _always _around. Plus, you play Quidditch."

"And you're a big fan of ours I see?" George wiggled his eyebrows at her and she snorted.

"I'm a fan of the _sport_."

Interested in this small little girl, I swung my legs up on the desk, crossed them, and propped my head up by my hands. "Do tell, Miss Bell." Katie rolled her eyes at my rhyme, and smiled.

"Well, I _am _trying out for Chaser next week. I doubt I'll get it though. The captain would _never _pick me..." With that she blushed, and I heard George snigger.

"Aw, does wittle Katie Kates have a wittle crush on Oliver Wood?" Katie stuck her tongue out at my brother, but her blush deepened. I laughed, but I couldn't figure out _why _this bothered me so much. So a little second year girl had a crush on Wood. Nothing knew there.

"_No_, I do _not, _thank you very much."

"Well, then, _who_?" I was curious now. Sure she was only twelve, but girls had crushes at that age, right? For Merlin's sake, Ginny had a crush on every Quidditch player she saw on Ron's posters.

She huffed and crossed her arms again, sinking back in her chair. "That's none of your business."

George laughed harder and I joined in halfheartedly. So she _did _fancy someone. "C'mon, Kates, tell us."

One of Katie's eyebrows rose at me. "Wouldn't _you _like to know."

"Actually, I _would_." I batted my lashes at her jokingly. "_Please_?" I leaned forward slightly for the added effect. She blushed, and I knew I had her. Sure my brother and I were only thirteen, but we've both had our fair share of dates. What can I say, girls loved us.

"Well," She bit her lip in contemplation. "alright. It's..." George and I leaned forward.

"What was that, dear?" George asked, cupping his hand to his ear.

"Yes, couldn't quite hear ya, you're gonna havta speak up."

Katie sighed and glared at us for a moment, turning pink. "Cedric Diggory." She tried to sound calm and collected, but the pink on her cheeks told a different story.

George burst out laughing, and I couldn't help but to join in. "_Diggory_?" I choked out.

"He's such a _prat_!" George added.

Katie glared at us. "He is _not, _George!" This made my brother laugh louder, and I kinda felt bad for her.

"Well, suit yourself on that one. Personally I think that redheads covered in freckles are more attractive..." I winked at her and she blushed, turning to glare at George, who was still laughing.

"_Anyways,_" She began. George quieted down a bit, but did not stop from laughing here and there. "who do you two fancy then?"

It was George's turn to blush. Ever since we started Hogwarts he's had the biggest crush on Angelina Johnson, a girl in our house. He's just never plucked up the courage to ask her out.

I chuckled at George. "Georgie boy likes Angelina." Katie giggled at this. They must be friends.

"And who do _you _like?" Katie smirked at me and I shrugged.

"No one, at the moment. But thanks for asking, doll." I gave her another wink and she blushed a deeper red, smiling at me. My stomach felt strange.

"You honestly think I believe that?"

I nodded my head and flashed a smile at her. "Yep. So now, tell us about yourself, Kates."

And that's how we spent the next two hours in detention with Snape. Who knew how great of friends we'd all become.


	2. Chapter 2

I sprinted down the stairs into Gryffindor common room, running my fingers through my long brown hair, trying to smooth it out. Leaping over a group of second years sprawled out on the floor, I praised myself mentally for not tripping over them, like I normally would have.

One of the younger girl's papers flew about as I ran past them, and she yelled at me. "Sorry!" I shouted back as I hopped out of the portrait hole. I was running late today already, starting with Oliver Wood running our practice late _again._ After that, I had taken too long in the showers, and too long to get my outfit _just right_. I had a date with Ravenclaw's Quidditch captain, Roger Davies, and I didn't want to be late. It was _Roger Davies_. He had asked _me _out for a date to Hogsmeade with _him_.

Naturally this made me feel excited, and today, I actually felt pretty. Me, Katie Bell, Gryffindor chaser, best friend to the Weasley twins, prankster, the girl who never held her tongue, and natural tom boy. Today, I wasn't those things. Today, I was determined to be the perfect date for Hogwarts hunk Roger. Today I would smile, and laugh at his jokes, and hold his hand, and have fun at Hogsmeade.

I flew down the stairs, taking two at a time, thankful to miss the trick steps that caused the stairs to move. In a matter of two minutes I was down in the Great Hall, huffing and puffing, trying to refill my lungs with the air they yearned for.

I put my hands on my knees, trying to steady my breathing, when I heard a laugh. I turned to yell at the person, but smiled when I saw who it was.

"Oi, Kates, you alright there?" Fred smirked.

George laughed and joined in. "Yeah, wasn't practice two _hours _ago? Not two minutes?" Another smirk.

I rolled my eyes at the boys. "Yes, but I was running _late, _you two." Their eyebrows rose at this, but they didn't say anything. Oops, I had forgotten to tell them. "To my _date_."

Fred's eyebrows seemed to shoot higher up onto his forehead, and he didn't speak.

George apparently found this very funny, and busted out laughing. "Aw, ickle Katie-Kins has a _date_?" He sang. "And who's the unlucky bloke, eh? How much did you have to pay him?"

I scowled at George. "Nothing, thank you very much, Mr. Weasley. I am quite capable of getting dates on my own." Just because the twins could get a date whenever either of them wanted didn't mean I couldn't do the same, right?

George rolled his eyes at me and Fred still kept quiet. How strange, the boys never kept their mouths shut, not even while they slept.

I flashed a smile to Fred. "Jealous, Freddie boy?"

He quickly recovered himself, and grinned back at me. "Jealous? Of _you, _Kates?" He made a face at this, but the grin never left his face. "Always." He shot me a wink, and I giggled.

Suddenly remembering that I was indeed running late to my date with Roger, I scanned the Great Hall quickly. I spotted him chatting amongst some other Ravenclaws, and I smiled. Fred and George followed my gaze, made a face, and laughed.

I stuck my tongue out at them and began to walk towards my date.

"Oi, Kates, remember, no shagging on the first date!" I blushed furiously at this, and shot Fred an evil look. George and him burst into laughter, but left the Great Hall.

I took a deep breath and walked up to Roger. I tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a small smile. "Hello, Roger."

Roger snapped back to look at who was talking to him, and his face lit up. "Katie! I was beginning to think you stood me up today." He winked, and I blushed, shaking my head silly.

"'Course not, Roger." I gave him a smile. "Ready to go?"

He smiled warmly, and extended his arm for me. I took it in my own, and together we walked out of the Great Hall, making our way to Hogsmeade.

The air was brisk, and the leaves crunched under our feet that October evening. I would get cold from time to time, and Roger would sling an arm around me, trying to warm me up. We had walked comfortably alongside one another, chatting about Quidditch, and Charms class, and how Snape always seemed to come up with harder potions to brew every week.

Finally we had made our ways into Hogsmeade, and Roger led me into Madam Puddifoot's. I inwardly cringed, knowing what the place held inside. Once in the little restaurant, I withheld the urge to gag. There were lovey-dovey couples strewn about everywhere, and the decor was horrendous. Personally, I like pink, but in here, I couldn't stand it. There were cheesy decorations plastered everywhere, frills beyond compare lined the tables and windows, and the overall atmosphere just screamed _corny_.

However, I smiled up at Roger, who tugged me along to a little booth in the back. I slid in next to him, and picked up the menu lined with glitter. _Honestly? What are we here, five years old? Who has glitter-menus? _

Our waitress came over to take our orders, and we gave them, Roger insisting that he pay. I argued, but he insisted that he was a gentlemen, and that's how a gentleman was supposed to act. I eventually gave in, and decided to ask him about our upcoming Quidditch match in two weeks.

"So, are you all ready for our match?"

Roger set his butterbeer down and grinned. "Only if you're ready to lose."

I laughed and almost choked on my butterbeer. "Oh, please Roger. You guys don't stand a _chance_." He laughed at this, and I smiled. "What, with _Harry Potter _as our new seeker—that boys is bloody _brilliant_—and well, _me _of course." I winked and he laughed again.

"Oh, right, sorry Katie, I forgot you were on the team." He winked this time, and I settled for sticking my tongue out at him.

We spent the rest of our dinner joking and laughing with each other until we had been sitting there for nearly half an hour without any dinner or dessert left on our plates.

Roger threw some money on the table, along with a tip. He slid out from the booth and stuck his hand out towards me. I smiled and took it, sliding out of the booth to join him.

Together we stepped out of Madam Puddifoot's hand in hand into the cold autumn night. I took a deep breath, inhaling the cool, crisp air.

We walked alongside one another in silence for a while until we passed an all-too familiar shop.

I could feel my face light up. "Honeydukes!" I cried out happily.

Roger laughed alongside me. "Wanna go in?"

I nodded eagerly like a child and nearly dragged Roger alongside me. I could hear him chuckling as I dragged him all throughout the sweets shop, 'ooh-ing' and 'ahh-ing' at the array of candies and chocolates.

I grabbed a little bit of everything, and brought it to the counter to pay. I pulled out some money, but Roger was already pulling some out. I shoved him aside playfully and laughed.

"Nope, _I'm _paying this time." I smiled cheekily up at him and he just laughed and rolled his eyes down to me.

"Whatever you say, Katie." I smiled triumphantly, taking my bag of treats with us as we stepped outside the shop. "But next time, _I'm _paying."

I raised an eyebrow at this. "Next time, Mr. Davies? Who said I'd ever go out with you again?" I smiled, and he laughed nervously.

"Well, I uh—I thought that—well, you _looked _like you were having a good time, so—"

I stood on my tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek to shut him up. "Roger, don't be _silly_." I giggled, and he blushed. "I'd love to go out with you again."

A grin broke out across his face and I couldn't help myself from giggling. He smiled devilishly at me, and I laughed harder. Slinging me over his shoulder, I shrieked in surprise.

"Roger, put me _down_!" Damn him, he must have talked with the twins or something. They _always _did this to me. I was just thankful he hadn't started running around with me on his shoulder, or worse—spinning around like a madman.

He laughed and walked down the street, me trying to break free from his hold. "Not a chance, Miss Bell."

I sighed, and decided to stop trying to break out of his hold. I glanced around embarrassingly, receiving odd looks from the people on the streets. I blushed and sighed again.

Finally—after what seemed like _hours_—we had made it back to the castle. Roger still had refused to let me down, much to my dismay. I'm sure his shoulder would be killing him, I was no lightweight. Of course, that's not what people told me, but I knew better.

Roger was walking me towards the Great Hall when we heard an all too familiar voice from behind us. _"Mr. Davies! Put Miss Bell down, immediately!" _Ah, crap. It was McGonnigal. I couldn't help but giggle, and I heard Roger laugh. Suddenly, I was plopped back down onto the ground, and I brushed myself off, smoothing out my hair.

"Five points from Ravenclaw, Mr. Davies." She glared at him, and he just laughed nervously. I gulped, waiting for my punishment. Surely I was overdue for a detention with McGonnigal, right? I hadn't had one in, oh, over two weeks now. Must be a new record.

McGonnigal just looked me up and down once before turning on her heel to leave. Wow, not even a warning. She must hate Roger or something. I looked over to Roger who looked embarrassed, but he flashed me a smile anyways.

Without warning, he leaned down and kissed me. I blinked back my surprise, but kissed back after a brief moment of shock. Roger Davies had _kissed _me! _Me!_ After a few seconds longer, Roger broke the kiss and flashed me a smile.

"Goodnight, Katie." He winked, and I blushed pink. "See you later." I waved, and nodded my understanding. He laughed, and I squeaked out a giggle, still blushing furiously.

With that, Roger made his way to a group of friends, and I ascended the stairs up towards Gryffindor Tower.

I don't recall my trip to the common room, but I remember entering it in a daze. I was thrust back into reality with loud shrieks and squeals that were directed at me. I cringed at the noise, but a smile plastered itself on my face when I was bombarded with Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet—my two best friends, other than Fred and George, of course.

"Tell us _all _about it!" Alicia squealed.

"And don't you dare leave _anything_ out, or I swear I'll—"

"—guys, settle _down, _it was _just _a _bloody_ date!" Lee shouted from his spot at a table. Angelina and Alicia glared daggers at him, and Lee shut his mouth. I shot him an apologetic smile, and he laughed, returning his attention back to his game of Wizarding chess with a fellow fifth year of his.

Alicia and Angelina dragged me over to a couch and sat in front of me. I slung my legs over the arm of the couch and leaned back against the cushions. The two girls looked excitedly at me, waiting patiently for my retelling of the date.

I sighed, and recounted tonight's happenings, receiving many squeals and giggles from the girls. "And you didn't let him _pay_?" Angelina gawked.

I shrugged and started grabbing some sweets from the bag I had almost forgotten about until now.

"No, but he _did _pay for dinner, remember? I was trying to be nice." Angelina rolled her eyes, and I tossed her some chocolate covered nuts. She grinned, and started undoing the packaging on them.

"So what happened _next_?" I handed Alicia some chewy candies that changed flavor after the outside dissolved in your mouth. She too, grinned and started popping some in her mouth.

"Well—" I began, but was interrupted by two identical faces coming into view.

"Katie milady!" Fred sang, coming down from the boy's dorms. I giggled and lifted my head so he could sit down next to me. He plopped down and I placed my head in his lap, grinning up at him. Some people might think that this sort of behavior is a little too _close _for best friends, but that's how Fred, George and I have always been. I looked over to George who had settled between Angelina and Alicia on the floor.

"Hello, ladies." George spoke smoothly, trying to imitate an American accent, but failing horribly. Angelina giggled and Alicia rolled her eyes at him. I dug some pumpkin pastries out of the bag and tossed them to George, who caught them quickly, careful not to smash them

"Thanks, Kates!" He exclaimed, half of one of the pastries in his mouth already. Angelina elbowed him in the ribs, signaling him to not talk with food in his mouth and Alicia laughed, but rolled her eyes again.

I laid my head back down in Fred's lap, and he looked down at me with puppy-dog eyes. "What, none for your best friend?" I looked at him confusedly, trying not to laugh.

"Of course, Ange, 'Lic, Lee, and George already got some..." A smile spread across my face and Fred made a face, crossing his arms across his chest, pretending to be hurt by my words. I giggled and dug through my bag for some candies. Aha!

"Here," I said giving him a handful of things. "happy?"

A grin broke out across his face, and for a moment, he looked so genuinely happy—like a small child does when they first see presents underneath the tree on Christmas morning.

"Chocolate frogs!" Fred was already unwrapping them, and popping them into his mouth before they could hop away. However, one did hop out too fast for Fred, and landed on my face. I giggled furiously, trying not to swat it away.

Fred laughed and tried to make a grab for it, but it hopped across my face and landed on my chest. I blushed furiously when I saw Fred go to reach for it, but he stopped. I looked up at him, still blushing, and Fred turned away—ears a bright pink. I reached down to grab the frog, and popped it in my mouth.

"Well, um..." Fred began. I sat there, unsure of what to say. This was awkward.

Alicia thankfully piped in, the three of them on the floor oblivious to what had just happened. "So, you were telling us about your _date, _Katie...?" I grinned, and began where I had left off.

"So, after we left Honeydukes, he threw me over his shoulder," Angelina and Alicia wore the same shocked, but thrilled expression on their faces. George glanced between the two of them for a second, copied their faces and how they sat, trying to make fun of them. I rolled my eyes at him, and laughed. "and he carried me back to the castle."

Angelina spoke. "Aw, Kate, that's great! Why'd he carry you though, did you twist your ankle again?" I shot her a look, but laughed.

"No, I _didn't fall_ _again_, he just, well, he wanted to carry me I guess." I shrugged my shoulders, head still in Fred's lap.

"So what happened _next_?" Alicia wanted to know everything. How typical.

"Well," I paused for effect, but I looked over to see my two girl best friends awaiting anxiously, so I gave in. "then he dropped me off at the Great Hall, and he..."

"He _what_?" They cried together.

I bit my lip, and gave a small smile. "He _kissed _me!"

Angelina and Alicia squealed, made their way over George and hugged, jumping up and down excitedly. I laughed at them, and popped some chocolate frogs in my mouth. I glanced over to George who had given Fred a strange look.

I looked up at Fred, who was giving a look back to his brother. He didn't look too happy. "What's wrong, Freddie?" I tried to smile, but it fell when he looked down at me.

Fred glanced over at George, who looked like he wanted to speak, but held his tongue. "Nothing's wrong, Kates." I would have believed him, but the whole time he spoke, he looked at George, not me.

"Fred," I began. He still didn't look at me. "look at me." Fred slowly brought his eyes down to meet mine, and he gave a weak smile. Seriously, was the boy _ill _or something? He _never _acted this way!

"Nothing's wrong, Kates." I sat up to look at him, wanting to talk this through, but Fred got up from the couch. "Just tired. G'night, m'dear." And with his usual peck on the cheek to me before bed, Fred made his way up the stairs to the boys' rooms.

I shot George a look, and ignored Angelina and Alicia, who were chatting to one another about my date, breaking down everything Roger said or did.

George looked nervously up at me, and I patted the open spot on the couch. He got up and plopped down, swinging an arm around me lazily. "George, what's wrong with Fred?"

He simply shrugged. So, it was going to be _this _way, was it? "Georgie, come _on_, you can _tell _me." I smiled at him and held out a bag of every-flavored jelly beans.

George smiled and took some, popping them into his mouth. "Dunno what you're talking 'bout, Kates." He spoke with his mouth full of jelly beans, and I laughed.

"George, you _know _I don't believe that." I looked back to the stairs nervously. "Please, George, what's wrong with your brother?" I lowered my voice, careful to make sure no one else was listening in. I knew Fred and George too well to know when something _was _wrong. Something definitely wasn't right with Fred, and I needed to know.

George swallowed and flashed me a goofy smile. However, despite this, he spoke pretty seriously. "Kates, honestly, if you don't know by now, don't worry 'bout it." He gave me another smile and got up from the couch. He ruffled my hair a bit and smiled. "Nightie night!" I smiled back to George, and he too bounded up the stairs to bed.

Now, what was he supposed to mean by all of that?


	3. Chapter 3

"G'night, m'dear." I leaned down to peck Katie on the cheek before bed. It was a nightly ritual that we had started last year. Whoever called it a night first would always give the other one a kiss goodnight. Some people might think it's weird for best friends to do it, and I agree.

You see, Katie Bell is my best friend. Has been since my second year here at Hogwarts. We did everything together—right down to being on the Quidditch team. Ever since we had detention together her first year—George and I's second year—the three of us had been inseparable. We were always pulling pranks together, and skipping Quidditch practice, and making Snape's life hell.

However, lately, I don't know what to think about her anymore. Ever since this summer when she had come to visit my family for a week, things have started to change for me. I looked at her differently, and I always found myself wondering what she would think if I said something, or what she'd say about what I'd do. This puzzled me, and I didn't know what about her that made me feel all weird. I was fifteen years old, and I had never really felt this way about anyone before. I've liked girls before, and I've had my fair share of dates and girlfriends, but none of them had made me feel this way.

I pushed it off as nothing until tonight. George and I were up in our room, working on some new prank ideas when we'd heard the girls squealing and giggling down in the common room. We decided to see what all the fuss was about when I noticed Katie was back from her date with Davies.

I cringed inwardly, thinking of Katie being alone with that bloody idiot, but went to greet them anyways. I had sat down next to my best friend on the couch, and she rested her head on my lap.

Normally something like this wouldn't bother me—it wasn't the first time we've sat like this before. However, this time it made my stomach feel weird and I felt extremely nervous. About what I'm not sure, but my head was reeling with thoughts faster than I could comprehend. I tried to remember if I had showered today, and if I had remembered to brush my teeth. My hair was hopeless—as always—but I still wondered if it looked alright. I was confused as to why I thought about all these things, but I couldn't help it.

I noticed Katie had given candy to everyone else except me. I pouted, and she obliged, giving me handfuls of chocolate frogs. I had eaten almost all of them successfully without letting any of them hop away when one bloody frog jumped away and landed on her forehead. We laughed, and I tried to grab it, but it hopped down further to her chest.

Any other day I would have made a grab for it, but today I felt like I was crossing into uncharted territory. I was Fred Weasley, what the hell was wrong with me? I've touched girls' chests before, so what was stopping me from reaching over to snatch a chocolate frog off of my best friend's chest?

Somewhere in the back of my head I knew, but I ignored it and pulled my hand back, feeling my whole head burn with embarrassment. I couldn't quite look at her now, I was too embarrassed. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her pluck up the little frog and pop it in her mouth. I sighed in relief, and smiled down awkwardly down at her.

After a while we had gotten back onto the topic of her date tonight, and she told us about it.

Then, after Alicia implored for more, is when it hit me hard.

Katie bit her lip, and my stomach did a weird flip. "He _kissed _me!" She cried... happily?

Of course she was happy, I would tell myself. She fancies Davies, not you.

Whoa there. When did I start wanting Katie to fancy me?

My stomach dropped at her news, and I suddenly wanted to be anywhere but here. Why was I so upset about this? Surely she's had her first kiss before, right? I've kissed girls—hell, I've done more than that. I've snogged them senseless, but I've never shagged anyone. Still, that had to count for something, right?

I glanced over to George who was giving me a look that screamed _'don't-you-have-a-problem-with-this?'. _I shook my head a little, trying to seem indifferent about her news, but I knew that my face must tell a different story, because my brother kept staring at me, trying to get me to speak up.

What did he know that I didn't? I shot him a look when I saw Katie glance between us. She looked up at me, head still on my lap. I shot my brother a look that told him he better keep his mouth shut, and for once—thank Merlin—he did.

"What's wrong, Freddie?" I kept looking at George, warning him with my eyes that if he spoke as much as one syllable I'd ring his neck.

"Nothing's wrong, Kates." I spoke indifferently, but my stomach did another weird flip-flop. What the _hell _is wrong with me?

"Fred, look at me." I brought my eyes down to meet hers slowly, almost painfully. I needed to stop acting so weird _now_. I shot her a small smile, trying to seem like my old self.

"Nothing's wrong, Kates." I repeated, this time more forcibly. My head was screaming at me, telling me that I was a liar. I ignored it, and pushed myself off the couch. I leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"G'night, m'dear." And with that, I bounded up the stairs to my room, thankful to get out of there.

I threw my clothes off and slipped on a white t-shirt and some clean boxers, throwing myself in bed. I lay there on my back, staring up at the top of my four-poster bed.

"What is _wrong _with me?" I groaned. I threw my hands over my eyes and moaned, not knowing what to do.

After a short while, I looked over to see that my brother had come into the room.

"Kates gotcha down, brother?" He grinned.

I looked over at him, not amused.

He laughed nervously and plopped down on his bed, across from mine. "C'mon, Freddie boy, cheer up!"

I looked at him again, still not amused in the slightest. Whatever this was needed to stop _now_. I wasn't acting right. I was Fred Weasley, surely I could handle this!

"Fred," George began slowly. "c'mon, mate, it's not _that _bad. So they kissed, it's not like—"

"—so _what _if they kissed! Who _cares_?" I spat back. Truth be told I knew that's what was bothering me, I just didn't want to admit it.

But why would I worry about who my best friend kissed? Surely it was none of my business.

George sat in silence for a moment, contemplating on how to answer my little outburst.

"I'm sorry." No need to have things be weird between me and my own brother, right?

I looked over to him, and he just shrugged indifferently. "No worries, brother dearest." He flashed a smile, and I tried to smile back, but I knew it was a halfhearted attempt.

I thought back to Katie's words, still ringing in my head. _He _kissed _me! _I groaned and threw my hands to my forehead again. "What is _wrong _with me?" A million different scenarios played out in my head at once.

Katie and Roger kissing, snogging, holding hands, laughing together, graduating, moving in, getting married, having kids...

George laughed weakly. "Well it's obvious that you fancy her, mate."

My head snapped over to where my brother sat in bed. "No, I don't." I spat. But the words felt weird coming out of my mouth. They felt wrong.

George rolled his eyes. "Yes, you do. C'mon Fred, everyone knows it." He looked me over once. "Except you, of course."

I thought about that for a moment. Actually, that didn't sound so bad. So I fancied Katie, so what? The sooner I admitted to fancying my best friend, the sooner I could get over it, and the sooner things could go back to normal, right?

I nodded slowly, sitting up in bed. "Yeah, I fancy Katie..." Progress. Soon enough things would blow over.

Soon enough, things just _had _to go back to normal.

After all, I was Fred Weasley. I never fancied a girl for over a month, tops.

This would blow over soon enough. It _had _to.


	4. Chapter 4

The past three months have been great. Roger and I have been going out every weekend, and when we couldn't go to Hogsmeade, we were busy snogging somewhere. I knew I was only in my fourth year at Hogwarts, and I was only fourteen, but I knew that I more than liked Roger. Hell, I think I even _loved _him.

I know what you must be thinking. Right, some silly teenage love. That'll last long. But you know what? I really believed it would. I wanted more than anything to be with Roger, and I loved being around him.

It was as simple as that. I was with Roger, and I was happy. But something bothered me about him. Something was missing from our relationship, and I didn't know what. It bothered me, sure, but it was nothing, right? I mean, Roger was the first guy I ever fell for, and I was new at this. I didn't have any other relationships to look back on and compare it to, so I didn't know better.

Anyways, I was just walking out of potions when I bumped into Cho Chang. She was Ravenclaw's seeker, and a smart girl. I smiled at her, picking up our discarded things. "Oh, so sorry, Cho. I didn't even see you there—"

"—sorry, I didn't see you." We spoke at once, and I laughed. She gave a small, shy laugh, and I handed her a book.

"Katie!" I looked up to see Roger running towards me. I gave him a warm, happy smile.

"Hey, Roger." He gave me a quick kiss and noticed Cho standing there. He looked around once and then gave a small smile to the girl.

"Oh, hey Cho."

"H-hi Roger." She gave a shy smile and picked up the last of her things. "Nice seeing you two." Cho gave a wave and left us in front of potions.

"Hello again." He said, and gave me a soft, quick kiss. I smiled up at him, and we started to walk out of the dungeons. For once, Roger didn't take my books from me. Odd, he's _always _taken them, but it was no big deal. They were just books after all. I shrugged it off, and together we walked to my Transfiguration class.

"Well, here you are." He gave me a smile, and a peck on the cheek. "I gotta run, Quidditch practice."

I nodded and flashed a smile. "Sure, sure. See you later?"

He nodded and gave a wave. "Yeah, see ya, Katie!"

"Bye..!" I muttered. Things have been a little weird between Roger and I lately, but I just pushed it off as school stress and things like that. After all, I loved him, and we hadn't really ever fought or anything like that. I wasn't worried, and I knew that this would blow over soon enough.

I shrugged and went into Transfiguration. McGonnigal smiled at me for being on time for the fourth time this week, and I took my seat. She began her lesson, and I started doodling in my notebook.

_After class..._

Transfiguration dragged on, as usual, and I was thankful when the bell finally rang. I gathered my things slowly. I was in no rush to be anywhere—I was done with classes early on Thursday. Putting the last of my things in my bag, I adjusted my tie and threw my hair back in a ponytail.

"Hey, Kates!" Ah, the twins. I grinned at them in greeting.

"Boys," I acknowledged. "what are you two doing here? Don't you have herbology now?" Naturally it was on the other side of the building. So what were they doing in here?

"Ah, we're skipping, so—" Fred looked nervously at McGonnigal, who gave him a stern look.

"I mean, aha, we were just coming to walk you back to the dorms. What, with Sirius Black being out of Azkaban and on the loose and all..." He shot a nervous smile at McGonnigal who simply raised an eyebrow at Fred. George sniggered and I rolled my eyes.

"Mr. Weasley, skipping class _again_, are we?" She gave a strange look at Fred and I, but I ignored it.

"Well, no, not _exactly, _professor." He laughed. "You see, it's not _safe _for girls to walk around alone, so Georgie boy and I figured we'd assist milady here back to the dorms!" Surely enough, this was true. Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban a while back, and he was a known murderer—a real psychopath. I wasn't too nervous about it. I doubt that Hogwarts would ever be in trouble from him. The teachers, however, thought differently, and all students had a curfew. No students out after dark.

He glanced nervously around the room and nodded, happy with his story he'd thought up of. McGonnigal just looked at him through her spectacles and nodded, shooing us away.

"Yes, well, hurry along now. I have certain _papers _to _decode, _Mr. Weasley." She nodded at George, and held up a paper. Sure enough it was his hand writing. George gave a hearty laugh at this.

"Only the best for you, professor!" McGonnigal rolled her eyes, and we left the room together.

"So, Kates, no Roger today?" It was George who spoke. The past few months, Fred hardly ever spoke of my boyfriend. It was strange, sure, but I didn't think anything of it. If the three of us ever did talk about him, George always brought it up, followed with a strange look at Fred.

I shrugged. "He said he had Quidditch practice."

This time it was Fred who gave George a weird look. I brushed that off as well.

"Anyways, Kates, Valentine's day is Friday. You excited?" Smooth topic change, Fred.

However, I still nodded excitedly.

"Gonna finally shag Davies, Kates?" George sniggered, and Fred hit him in the arm. "Ow! Bloody _hell _Fred!"

I laughed and Fred just gave George a look. Things like this always happened between the twins. It was nothing new.

"Just looking out for a friend's virtue..." George muttered. I giggled, and Fred glared at his brother.

We had finally arrived at Gryffindor tower. However, there was something going on. Students were panicking, and there was a large crowd cluttered in front of the portrait hole. George and Fred exchanged nervous looks, and I suddenly became nervous. Nothing _ever _scared the twins. This was bad.

"_She's gone!"_

"_But, how can this happen!"_

"_I heard Weasley saw him_—"

"—_him? You mean Sirius Black?"_

Shit, what was all this about? Sirius Black? Here? In Hogwarts? And who was gone?

Fred grabbed me and pulled me alongside him through the crowd of students. George was pushing people out of the way. "Oi! _Move, _wouldja?" Fred was angry, but trying to keep his temper under control.

We had reached the front of the portrait hole, and I gasped. The Fat Lady was gone. "Fred?" I squeaked. He looked down at me immediately. "What does this mean?"

He looked around for a second, and I heard a younger boy speak.

"_Yeah, Ron saw him."_

I tugged on Fred's robe and he grabbed the little kid. "What did my brother see?"

The poor boy looked frightened, and gulped. "S-Sirius Black. He saw him. Tried to kill him."

Fred looked furious, and I was scared. I searched frantically for George, when McGonnigal and Dumbledore showed up. They had quieted the crowd down a bit, and found out what had happened.

Fred pulled me over to McGonnigal now. "Professor," He spoke quietly. "is my brother okay?" His eyes searched her's for a moment before she spoke.

"Mr. Weasley," She spoke softly, but sincerely. "your brother is fine. Good thing he had Potter and Granger with him." Fred visibly relaxed. "However, I think it was for the better that you skipped class today." She gave a look at me, and I felt scared. What if the twins hadn't skipped class to come to the dorms with me? Would _I _have been the one to see Sirius Black?

"Students," Dumbledore spoke loud enough to quiet the group of students. "report to the Great Hall immediately. Partner up, and never go anywhere alone." After that, Dumbledore left, and students searched frantically for friends and siblings, making their way down to the Great Hall.

I scanned the crowd and George came up next to us. "Ron's fine." Fred stated. George too, visibly relaxed. That must be so scary, not knowing how your own brother or sister was, and whether they were okay or not. I was an only child, and I had never known how that must feel.

The twins looked at each other for a moment before speaking. "Right, well I'll go find Lee. Ange and 'Lic are probably down there already, I saw them a few flights below." Fred nodded at his brother, and George left to find Lee.

Fred stood watching his brother depart, and I stood next to him silently. After a moment he turned to me, and grabbed my wrist. "C'mon, Kates." He gave a small smile, and led me down to the Great Hall.

_In the Great Hall, later that night..._

So it turns out that Sirius Black was in fact, in Hogwarts. Or, so the staff thought. They had moved everyone into the Great Hall that night, telling us that we would sleep here. At this news, I clung onto Fred, and he pulled me up against him. Normally these kind of things didn't scare me, but a _murderer _that escaped from _Azkaban _had broken into Gryffindor common room.

I had finally located where Roger was. He was sitting with the rest of the Ravenclaws, talking and laughing with a group of friends. I recognized some of the people in his group, or around. There was Luna Lovegood sitting by herself, and I noticed Cho Chang talking with Roger and his friends. He laughed, and looked over to me. I smiled, and he waved, flashed a smile, and turned back to his friends. We were ordered to stay with our Houses, so they could better keep track of us.

Later on that night, after everyone had eaten—or _tried_—sleeping bags were brought in, as well as pillows. I saw Ange and Alicia setting up next to one another, and Lee went and laid down next to Angelina. Alicia looked disappointed, and I almost laughed when I saw George get a little jealous. Instead, George plopped down his bag next to Alicia, who smiled at him, and zipped himself up, turning away from our friends. I sighed, and went to go grab some things from the pile when Fred handed them to me.

"Here," He said, offering me one of the larger bags and a pillow. "I grabbed you one of the fluffy ones, because you said that you can't sleep on a flat one..." I smiled warmly at Fred and took the things from him.

"Aw, that's sweet, Fred! You remembered!" I hugged him for a brief moment, and walked over next to George, setting up my bed for the night. I turned back to Fred. "Aren't you coming?" He smiled and nodded, grabbed some things, and made his way over to me.

On my other side Fred had set up his sleeping bag, and he unzipped it. He laid down in it, but didn't zip himself up. I did the same, and turned to him.

Fred was laying on his back, head cradled in hands, staring up at the ceiling of the Great Hall, which was spelled to look like a starry night sky. "Fred?" I whispered softly. He turned his head to look at me.

"Yeah, Kates?" He whispered back.

"Thanks." I whispered. He seemed confused by this.

"For what?" He whispered back. I shrugged.

"Dunno. I guess—for being _you_." I laughed softly, and he chuckled. "Thanks for being such a great friend, Fred." Although the Great Hall was dark, I could have sworn I saw his face droop a little.

"Oh, yeah, um—no problem. Anytime." I smiled at him in the dark, and scooched my sleeping bag closer to him.

Snuggling up against my best friend, I shut my eyes, ready to sleep. "G'night, Fred." I whispered sleepily.

I could feel his chest rising and falling with each breath. "G'night, Katie." I smiled, and drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The past three months have been horrible. Well, not completely so, but every time Katie's bloody boyfriend was brought up, or I'd actually _see them _together, is when I would feel horrible. You see, I had come to terms three months ago that I actually _did _fancy Katie.

Three months ago. I've _never _fancied someone for this long. Hell, I've never been in a relationship for this long before.

Yet, here I was, completely infatuated with my best friend, Katie Bell. Every time bloody Roger Davies would come into my head, all I could do is sit there and mope. Images of Katie and him running off together, doing—well, quite _literally_—each other, or running off to get married and things like that.

I knew I was being ridiculous and all, but I couldn't help it. She was in my every thought process, and everything I did I found myself wondering what she would say or do about it.

I was insane—I knew that, but the worst part was that I couldn't stop it.

Things had been bearable for the first month or so, and even better when she had spent the holidays at the Burrow with George and I. She seemed to completely forget about Roger, and have fun with my brother and me, like old times.

Now I sound like she's become a completely different person, when in truth, I'm the one who's changed. I act differently now that I've come to grips with fancying her, and I think she's noticed. She's yet to confront me about it, and when she used to try, I'd ignore it and pretend that I didn't know what she was talking about.

So back to Christmas. We were having a good holiday break, until Christmas. We had all gotten one another gifts, and right before we were about to exchange, a bloody owl shows up with a gift for Katie. Fan-bloody-tastic. Naturally the gift was from Roger, and naturally it was some expensive bobble. Of course Katie loved it, and of course she wore it whenever he was around.

At the time, I didn't let it bother me so much. Now, though, I just want to rip it off of her and tell her all about her good for nothing boyfriend, right here as we slept in the Great Hall, watching out for Sirius Black.

You see, George and I had started to notice Davies acting differently about a month ago. It was a week or two after the holidays, and he would blow off times they were supposed to hand out. This made me happy at first, what, with the lack of Roger around, so that meant more time for Katie to hang out with George and I, but then it upset me.

What was more important than hanging out with Katie—his girlfriend? The answer _should _be simple: nothing. However, Davies felt differently, so George and I decided to do some investigating.

We would follow that good for nothing bloke around, and wouldn't you guess what we saw? Davies and Chang, snogging each other senseless. Of course they hadn't known we were there, and we _wanted _to tell Katie—really, we did—but couldn't you see how that would look?

I fancy her, and if I—or even George—were the one to tell her, she would be mad, and I would never have a shot with her. Instead, we tried to keep her as happy as possible, trying to hide it from her. We would pull pranks and do shit to Roger on the side, and he would never know it was us. I couldn't let Katie find out, or she'd be furious with us.

So, for now, I'd wait for him to break up with her, and I'd be there on the sidelines, with arms wide open for her. Then we could be together.

Okay, so I was incredibly cheesy, but hey, it's gotten me this far with girls, right?

That brings us back to the Great Hall. Sirius Black, after breaking out of Azkaban, decided to pay a visit to Hogwarts—more specifically, Gryffindor Tower. The whole school had been in a panic, and we were moved to sleep in the Great Hall for the night.

After every one was settled in, Katie wound up falling asleep half on top of me. I'm not one to complain—not even Davies was there to ruin the moment. Despite sleeping on the cold hard floor of the Great Hall, I found myself getting the best sleep of my life.

When I awoke this morning, I smiled. Katie's head wasn't resting on my chest any longer, but instead she was cuddled up against me. I looked around and noticed that almost half of the school was packing up their things to go back to their dorms. I sighed, not wanting to wake Katie, but I knew that she would be mad at me if I didn't.

"Kates..." I whispered in her ear. Katie stirred a little, and moved in closer against me. I tried to keep a smile off my face. "Katie, c'mon, wake up." I shook her a little, and her eyes fluttered open. She grinned up at me, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Her hair was a little messed up, and her tie was loose around her neck, but she looked beautiful. "Morning!" She chirped, somewhat sleepily. I laughed, and got up. I extended a hand for her, and she jumped up.

"Morning, sunshine. You're in a good mood." And she really was. Katie Bell, of all things she _was_, was _not _a morning person.

She shrugged, and pulled her hair back into a pony tail. "Slept good, I guess." Inwardly I grinned, but on the outside, I just shrugged.

I scanned the room, not finding Roger anywhere. "C'mon, let's go back up to the dorms." I slung an arm around her, and together we walked up to Gryffindor Tower.

Score one for Weasley.


	6. Chapter 6

The past three months have been horrible. Sure, good things have happened, like us going to Hogsmeade, or pulling some brilliant pranks, or winning Quidditch matches, but I still felt rotten. Well, not completely so, but every time Katie's bloody boyfriend was brought up, or I'd actually _see them _together, is when I would feel horrible. You see, I had come to terms three months ago that I actually _did _fancy Katie.

Three months ago. I've _never _fancied someone for this long. Hell, I've never been in a relationship for this long before.

Yet, here I was, completely infatuated with my best friend, Katie Bell. Every time bloody Roger Davies would come into my head, all I could do is sit there and mope. Images of Katie and him running off together, doing—well, quite _literally_—each other, or running off to get married and things like that is what _killed _me. I almost felt, dare I say it, _jealous_.

I knew I was being ridiculous and all, but I couldn't help it. She was in my every thought process, and everything I did I found myself wondering what she would say or do about it.

I was insane—I knew that, but the worst part was that I couldn't stop it.

One might think that George would try to talk some sense into me, but he did just the opposite. He would try to get me into getting closer with her, and pushing Roger away. He was bloody horrible, and it just made me even more confused. I knew that I shouldn't feel this way about my best friend, but I couldn't help it. I spent hours a day trying to talk myself out of it, telling myself that it was only a crush and that it was nothing more. I would spend whole classes trying to justify the way I felt and how it wasn't completely horrible that I was this wrapped up with my best friend, but every time I even got remotely close to an answer, George would come in and I'd be back at square one. Two steps forward and one step back.

Things had been bearable for the first month or so, and even better when she had spent the holidays at the Burrow with George and I. At times, she seemed to completely forget about Roger, and the three of us would laugh and have fun with one another like old times.

Now I sound like she's become a completely different person, when in truth, I'm the one who's changed. I act differently now that I've come to grips with fancying her, and I think she's noticed. She's yet to confront me about it, and when she used to try, I'd ignore it and pretend that I didn't know what she was talking about.

So back to Christmas. We were having a good holiday break, until Christmas day. We had all gotten one another gifts, and right before we were about to exchange, a bloody owl shows up with a gift for Katie. Fan-bloody-tastic. Naturally the gift was from Roger, and naturally it was some expensive bobble. Of course Katie loved it, and of course she wore it whenever he was around. I felt like pulling out my wand and stabbing that damned owl, knowing that it was Roger. Of course I didn't though—I could never do that to an animal.

At the time, I didn't let it bother me so much. Now, though, I just want to rip it off of her and tell her all about her good for nothing boyfriend, right here as we slept in the Great Hall, watching out for Sirius Black.

You see, George and I had started to notice Davies acting differently about a month ago. It was a week or two after the holidays, and he would blow off times they were supposed to hand out. This made me happy at first, what, with the lack of Roger around, so that meant more time for Katie to hang out with George and I, but then it upset me.

What was more important than hanging out with Katie—his girlfriend? The answer _should _be simple: nothing. However, Davies felt differently, so George and I decided to do some investigating.

We would follow that good for nothing bloke around, and wouldn't you guess what we saw? Davies and Chang, snogging each other senseless. Of course they hadn't known we were there, and we _wanted _to tell Katie—really, we did—but couldn't you see how that would look?

I fancy her, and if I—or even George—were the one to tell her, she would be mad, and I would never have a shot with her. Instead, we tried to keep her as happy as possible, trying to hide it from her. We would pull pranks and do shit to Roger on the side, and he would never know it was us. I couldn't let Katie find out, or she'd be furious with us.

So, for now, I'd wait for him to break up with her, and I'd be there on the sidelines, with arms wide open for her. Then we could be together.

Okay, so I was incredibly cheesy, but hey, it's gotten me this far with girls, right?

That brings us back to the Great Hall. Sirius Black, after breaking out of Azkaban, decided to pay a visit to Hogwarts—more specifically, Gryffindor Tower. The whole school had been in a panic, and we were moved to sleep in the Great Hall for the night.

After every one was settled in, Katie wound up falling asleep half on top of me. I'm not one to complain—not even Davies was there to ruin the moment. Despite sleeping on the cold hard floor of the Great Hall, I found myself getting the best sleep of my life.

When I awoke this morning, I smiled. Katie's head wasn't resting on my chest any longer, but instead she was cuddled up against me. I looked around and noticed that almost half of the school was packing up their things to go back to their dorms. I sighed, not wanting to wake Katie, but I knew that she would be mad at me if I didn't.

"Kates..." I whispered in her ear. Katie stirred a little, and moved in closer against me. I tried to keep a smile off my face. "Katie, c'mon, wake up." I shook her a little, and her eyes fluttered open. She grinned up at me, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Her hair was a little messed up, and her tie was loose around her neck, but she looked beautiful. "Morning!" She chirped, somewhat sleepily. I laughed, and got up. I extended a hand for her, and she jumped up.

"Morning, sunshine. You're in a good mood." And she really was. Katie Bell, of all things she _was_, was _not _a morning person.

She shrugged, and pulled her hair back into a pony tail. "Slept good, I guess." Inwardly I grinned, but on the outside, I just shrugged.

I scanned the room, not finding Roger anywhere. "C'mon, let's go back up to the dorms." I slung an arm around her, and together we walked up to Gryffindor Tower. Score one for Weasley.

_Valentine's Day..._

The rest of the week passed uneventfully, and I found myself in the Great Hall for lunch with George.

It was Valentine's Day today. The whole castle was decorated with hearts, and the house elves were dressed in wings and passing out valentines to students and teachers alike. I rolled my eyes when I saw the girls earlier this morning receive flowers and chocolates from some of our classmates. George had even sent Angelina some, and he received a peck on the cheek from her a thanks.

Lee of course had sent Angelina gifts upon gifts, and even sent Alicia a little something. Angelina ignored Lee, but still thanked him with a peck on the cheek. That's all he needed to keep him chasing after her.

George was busy staring at Angelina, and I would elbow him playfully, shooting winks over to Angelina. She would laugh at first, but then got fed up with it after a while and went to ignoring the two of us. Well, she was no fun. Moving on to Alicia, I noticed Wood and her kept throwing glances at one another. When she wasn't talking to Ange or glancing over to Oliver, I noticed that she was actually trying to _flirt _with Lee.

I suppressed a laugh, not wanting to make fun of the girl. Alicia's fancied Lee for a while now, but unfortunately for her, Lee only had eyes for Angelina. On the other hand, no one really knew who Angelina did fancy, so that remained a mystery much to my dear brother's dismay. George had been secretly pining after Angelina since our first year. He was completely smitten with her, but he'd never admit it to anyone—not even me. I knew better though, and every chance I got, I would annoy the shit out of him by pretending to flirt with Angelina. It drove my dear twin insane, and for that, I was pleased.

And then there was Katie and I. She was completely in love with Roger Davies—that damnable liar and cheater—and I was here, struck dumb by even the thought of her. Sure I fancied her, and I wouldn't allow it to become more than that, in hopes of staying as good of friends as we were. I knew I didn't stand a chance in hell with her, but a guy can dream, right? Now, I'm not saying that Davies deserved her either, but he was what she wanted, and for that, I envied him.

After all, what did he have that I didn't? He was a tall, good looking Quidditch player. I was a tall guy—towering a few inches over Davies himself. As for good looking, no ones ever really complained about how I've looked before. I'd have to say that I was at _least _decent looking, right? Sure, I may not be _classically _handsome—whatever the hell that meant—and my bright red hair may always look messy, but I thought I looked fine. I was one of Gryffindor's best beaters—George being the other one—so I didn't lack in the athletic department.

Davies was in Ravenclaw, so that meant he was smart. I snorted at that. The guy may get good marks in school, sure, but he definitely wasn't a _smart _guy. True, I wasn't a model student, but I like to think that's because I've never truly applied myself. I listen when I want, and I take in what I think I'll need in my future. I do what I can to get by, and I find myself a brilliant student when it comes to potions, transfiguration, and charms. Davies couldn't do anything _I _couldn't do.

I racked my brain for more things that Roger could have that I didn't. I thought back to Christmas. Sure he had gotten Katie an expensive gift, something I couldn't just go out and pick up, but so what? You didn't have to be rich to get someone a nice gift, right? Wasn't Katie always telling George and I that it was the thought that counted? Surely I had always put a lot of thought into the gifts I bought for the girl, ever since second year. And if I remember correctly, she's liked every one of them. Even if she didn't enjoy them, she was a damn good liar. I rolled my eyes at that thought. Katie, a good liar? Who am I trying to fool? That girl had to be one of the _worst _fibbers that's ever graced this world with her presence.

So Roger Davies had more money than me. Big deal. One day I would show him how successful I could be. George and I would make a name for ourselves in the world. Maybe not right away, but it would happen—take my word for it.

So I came to the conclusion that other than having more money than me, Roger could offer nothing I couldn't offer Katie.

_Whoa, stop right there. Why am I comparing myself to him? I don't need to win her over. She loves Davies_—_lucky bastard_—_and I don't need to be with her. Sure I'd like to, but is it worth ruining our friendship over?_

I knew that answer already. Of course she was worth it. I'd do anything in my power for her, even if it killed me.

George elbowed me in the ribs, and I turned to where he was pointing. Katie was walking into the Great Hall hand in hand with Roger, and not a gift in sight. This made a part of me happy, that maybe she would see that he didn't even think she was worth getting gifts for, but then a part of me felt sorry for her. After all, they had been going out for about four months now. He was her _boyfriend, _couldn't he at least get her a bloody _card_? Flowers? _Chocolates?_

I found myself glaring at him, and was thankful when George shoved me out of my reverie. I flashed him a thankful smile and went back to picking at my lunch.

I would glance over to Katie and Roger from time to time when he whispered something in her ear and she nodded. Together they walked out of the Great Hall. Now, where could they be off to?

Ah, right. Today was a Hogsmeade trip. Naturally he'd take her out there on a day like today.

Not hungry any longer, I excused myself from the table, receiving a weird look from George, and made my way up to the Gryffindor common room. I made my way silently passed couples snogging one another on the couch, and finally made it up to my room, where—thankfully—no one had brought their girlfriend to shag yet.

I groaned, and made a mental note to remember to put some silencing charms on the beds later that night.

Walking over to my trunk, I changed clothes and sat on my bed, contemplating what to do about today. Katie was out with Roger probably having a good time. Later he'd probably bring her back to Ravenclaw's tower, and hope to get lucky.

That thought infuriated me terribly,and I found myself feeling sick just thinking about it.

What right did he have to do that to her when he was with Cho on the side? Katie didn't deserve that. Hell, no one deserved that.

I sat there in bed for a while, deciding whether or not I go break up their date to tell her about Roger. I looked over at the clock. It was almost dinnertime.

I made up my mind, grabbed a coat and my wand, and threw some money into my pockets. I was going to Hogsmeade.


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up on February fourteenth with a smile on my face. Roger had told me to meet him outside the Great Hall during lunch so we could head out to Hogsmeade together. I woke up bright and early that morning, feeling excited about today.

After all, what better day to tell Roger I loved him than on Valentine's Day?

I hopped out of bed eagerly, ready to start getting ready for our date. I wanted to look extra nice for him, so I had to start now if I wanted to look special.

I showered quickly, and decided to break open some new shampoo and body wash. Strawberry shampoo and a vanilla body wash. I inhaled the scent deeply, and washed swiftly. Stepping out of the shower ten minutes later, I brushed my teeth and dried my hair.

My long brown hair lay pretty straight around my shoulders and down my back. I stared in the mirror, deciding what to do when I pulled my wand out. Sitting down in front of the mirror in my towel, I chanted some spells and my hair started to curl.

An hour and a half later, I looked at the large curls that framed my face and rippled down my bag. I admit, I looked _great_. I felt pretty, and I didn't even have my make up or clothes on. I smiled at my reflection. This was going to be a good day, I could feel it.

Casting a few more holding charms on my hair to keep it in place, I applied some muggle hair spray as well, just for good measure. I slipped on my clothes and looked in the mirror once again.

I had thrown on a deep red sweater that clung to my skin, but wasn't on my shoulders. My bony shoulders poked out of the red fabric, and looked pale compared to the deep red. I had put on a black skirt—something I rarely did—and some skin colored nylons. To finish it off, I threw on some black strap heels, wanting to feel tall and confident today. With the heels on I was only five foot six, but I felt like I could conquer the world in them. I examined myself in the mirror, and once I was absolutely sure about my outfit, I sat down to start my makeup. I had a little less than an hour to meet Roger, and I felt confident that I could finish with time to spare.

Once I had finished putting on all of the makeup—which wasn't as much as I had first anticipated—I took one final look in the mirror. I felt like I was glowing from the inside out. I felt amazing, and I hoped that Roger would think so to. Hell, he'd better think so with all the work I had put into myself today.

My outfit was just right, my hair had never looked better, and my makeup covered up anything I wanted to hide. I looked _hot_.

Smiling, I grabbed my wand and some money from my trunk and went to meet Roger in the Great Hall.

_At the Great Hall..._

Making my way into the Great Hall, I heard my name being called. "Katie! Hey, wait up!"

I turned around to see Roger running up to me. He slowed down and looked me up and down a few times. "Hey, you look great."

I smiled warmly at him. "Yeah?"

He nodded and took my hand in his. "Ready to go?" He whispered in my ear. I nodded eagerly and together, we made our way to Hogsmeade.

_At the streets of Hogsmeade..._

It was a nice day outside, even for having a little snow on the ground still. The sun wasn't out, but overall the day felt great. There was a slight breeze blowing snow to and fro, and young couples and friends lined the streets, holding hands, and laughing, and kissing. Roger and I walked in silence, looking around at all of the shops and their decorations.

We made our way into Honeydukes and the place was packed. Students were crammed everywhere, picking out chocolates and candies for the Valentines. I smiled up at Roger who pulled me along to look at what they had out for Valentines Day. I grabbed a few things for my friends back at the castle, and a big chocolate heart for Roger. I paid, and he gave me some chocolates he picked out.

Once outside the crowded store, I noticed that it had gotten much darker out. The streets were still lined with people having a good time, and Roger pulled me along again. I smiled, and I didn't even care where we were going, as long as I was with him.

I looked him over, and felt happy. For once I had a Valentine. I had a great boyfriend, and I was ready to tell him I loved him, wherever he stopped us.

Moments later he steered me into Madam Puddifoot's. We squeezed our way past happy couple after happy couple, and he led me to the same booth where we had our first date. I grinned happily. How cute—Roger had remembered.

Madam Puddifoot's hadn't changed much since our last visit—there was still the cheesy decor and couples everywhere, but it only seemed intensified due to the holiday. There were hearts and stars falling from the ceiling, much like it had been in the Great Hall, and the whole placed smelled like chocolates and roses.

Roger slid in across from me, and propped himself on his elbows onto the table. I leaned forward and smiled at him. I would tell him how I felt later, during dessert.

We had ordered our food, and we still had hardly talked. It wasn't what I expected, but it didn't deter me from my great mood. Here I was on Valentine's Day with the guy I loved, what more could I ask for?

I peeked over at Roger from under my eyelashes, and he was scanning the room. He smiled and waved to someone, and I followed his gaze. It was Cho Chang, who had just walked into the place. She gave a grin and waved back happily, smoothing out her pin straight hair. I looked down at my butterbeer, away from the girl.

Roger seemed to notice my being so quiet, because he spoke up. "Anything wrong, Katie?"

I shook my head and spoke softly. "No." I looked up at him and gave a small smile.

Roger fidgeted in his seat and glanced around before looking at me.

"Are _you _alright?" I asked. He was acting weird.

"Well, um, I actually wanted to talk to you about something..."

I bit my lip, but nodded my head, wanting him to continue.

"Well, you see, Kates, it's about _us,_ actually." My heart skipped a beat, and I felt myself smile. This was it, he was going to tell me he loved me!

"Yes?" I asked eagerly. Roger looked around and finally down at the table.

"Well, you see, I really _don't_ want to do this, but well, I..."

I furrowed my brow at him. What was he trying to say?

"I think I want to break up, Katie. I think I'm in love with someone else. It just—it's not working out between us. I have to go, good luck with everything." Roger stood up, and left. I felt my whole world crumble down with his words. He didn't love _me, _he loved _someone else. _I watched him leave, and noticed that Cho Chang followed closely behind him.

Figures.

I sat there in the booth feeling like crying, but I couldn't. I had just been dumped by my boyfriend on Valentine's Day. I was alone, in a booth, surrounded by countless couples, all in love. The room felt like it was closing in on me, but I didn't have the strength to move.

I don't know how long I had sat there like that, just staring at his empty seat until I heard my name.

"Katie?"


	8. Chapter 8

I had just finished looking all over Hogsmeade, ready to give up on my search for Katie when I saw her. She was sitting in the back of Madam Puddifoot's, all alone. This had me confused, and ruined my plan to tell her all about Roger and how he was cheating on her.

I pressed myself up against the glass window of the shop, trying to see what was going on. I was receiving annoyed looks from couples in the shops, but I ignored them. Who knows how long Katie had been sitting there like that, all alone. She was staring at the empty seat across from her, looking so _sad_.

I knew right there that she had found out about Roger, and that he _left _her there. What an ass.

I stepped back from the window and took a deep breath. Gathering up all the courage I could, I stepped inside and made my way over to Katie. Right now, pushing my feelings for her aside, I focused on one thing.

She was my best friend, and she needed me. I wouldn't let that get in the way of anything right now.

I stood there for a moment, and she hadn't noticed me. I took another breath, and spoke softly. "Katie?"

She didn't look at me, and I wondered if she'd even heard me speak to her. My heart skipped a beat and broke all at once when I really looked at her.

She was beautiful—especially today. Her long brown hair that I loved so much rippled down her back in large curls. They shone brightly, and framed her face perfectly. She wore more makeup today than she normally did, and it looked fantastic. Not an eyelash was out of place, and her full pink lips were turned down in a frown.

Her big brown eyes looked so _sad, _but they still shone.

And her outfit—oh, kill me now. If she wasn't so sad and I wasn't so much of a coward I would snog her right there. Sure I've seen her in skirts before, but none ever this short, or dare I say it—sexy. She had on heels that I knew she probably hated, and her sweater hung around her and off her shoulders perfectly.

She was gorgeous, and I just realized it. I shook my head of these thoughts and tried to keep myself focused.

I spoke again, this time louder and more firm. "Katie, are you okay?"

She turned her head slowly to look up at me. She smiled, but her eyes looked ready to cry at any moment. "Oh, hello Fred."

My heart broke. "Kates, what _happened_?" My voice was barely above a whisper by the time I finished speaking. I shook my head and threw a smile on before she could answer.

I extended my hand for her, and she looked at it for a moment before she brought her sad eyes up to meet mine again. She still didn't take my hand.

"C'mon, Kates, let's go." I still smiled, and pleaded to her with my eyes. She nodded and took my hand. I pulled her up, and we made our way out of Madam Puddifoot's.

It had started to snow, but it wasn't horribly cold out just yet. The dark streets were lit up by the street lamps and pink and red paper lanterns. The whole place was glowing, and it looked so peaceful with the snow. I looked down at the girl next to me, who was focusing on the cobblestone sidewalks, trying not to fall in her heels.

We were walking down the streets for a while now, in silence, when a certain shop caught my eye. I pulled her over to a bench, and sat her down. "Wait here, I'll just be a moment."

She gave a small smile and nodded her head. I didn't want to leave her, but I needed to get something. After making sure she wouldn't run off on me, I ran over to Honeydukes.

The place was jammed wall to wall with people, and I squeezed myself past them to get what I came for. I almost cheered when I noticed that I had found the last one, and I plucked it up and ran over to the counter to pay for it quickly, careful not to smash it between the people in the shop. I threw some money down onto the counter, thanked the man, and made my way through the people once again. My eyes flicked over to the bench across the street and found Katie still sitting there.

I thanked her silently that she had listened for once, and walked over to her. It was still snowing out, and she still looked terribly sad.

Fingering my gift behind my back, I stood in front of her. She looked up at me sadly, but still smiled. I smiled warmly down at her. _If only she knew how much I cared for her_.

"Told you I'd be back." I smiled cheekily, and finished with a wink. She gave a sad laugh, and I pulled my gift out from behind my back, handing it to her.

It was a single chocolate rose. It hadn't bloomed yet, and I had thankfully gotten the last one. Dad had gotten mum one of these years ago when George and I were still little, and she simply adored it.

Katie took the chocolate rose carefully, and her face looked shocked when it started to bloom before her eyes. The small bud erupted gracefully into a full-bloomed rose, and she couldn't help but smile.

I saw a tear roll down her cheek. "Why are you crying, love?"

She stood up and hugged me tightly, and I noticed that she was careful not to crush the rose. "Thank you, Fred." She whispered against my chest. I smiled, overjoyed that she liked the gift, and wrapped my arms around her tightly, pulling her closer against my chest.

We stood like that for a few moments, hugging one another on the snowy streets of Hogsmeade. Those were the best few moments of my life so far, and I knew that I would always remember them. When we pulled away, she wiped the tears from her face and gave me a small smile.

I wrapped an arm around her and led her back to Hogwarts. Maybe I had a chance after all.


	9. Chapter 9

The two of us broke apart after a while, and he slung an arm around my bare shoulders. Fred's touch was warm and even a little shy—something that Fred or George normally was not. I could tell I had made him uncomfortable today when he found me almost in tears. Fred didn't deal well with girls crying, and so I did my best to not break down in front of him, however hard that was. That, and I was too stubborn to let him see me cry like a baby over someone like _Roger_.

Spite filled up inside of me when I thought of that _prick_. I didn't know what I had done wrong in our relationship. Had I driven him away? Was I the reason he had felt the need to seek out more attention from other girls? What was _wrong _with me?

I spent a great deal of our trip back to Hogwarts trying to figure out what I had done to make Roger not love me anymore, and to cheat on me. By the time the castle came into view I had come to the conclusion. I had done nothing wrong—it was _his _fault. I deduced that all men were no good, and they simply couldn't help themselves when it came to being around girls. There would always be something better in their minds, and I realized that now. No man could stay in a stable relationship forever. Every man was bound to cheat at least once in his life. And if they weren't cheating, they were dropping girls like they had some disease for another. It was sick, I know, but at least I realized it now.

I peeked up at Fred under my lashes. He was looking out ahead at the castle drawing nearer with each step we took. He looked so at ease right now, but I could tell something was troubling him. Hell, even Fred Weasley, my _best friend _was known for how many girl friends he'd had! The twins were famous for how easily they could get girls. I've never seen a girl turn any of them down, and they were always found snogging or charming their way to another girl. It made me sick to think about, but now I knew. All men were the same, and all men couldn't be trusted.

I knew that I might sound a tad dramatic, but I also knew that I was right. I didn't want to die an old maid—to have sworn off men. No, that's not what I wanted at all. Sure, I would like a stable, loving relationship as much as the next girl, but I knew it was impossible. If I wanted to be with a guy, then that's _exactly _what I would do.

No strings attached. I decided that would be my motto from now on. If ever I was in need of some—_attention_—I would simply find a guy, do with him what I wanted, and be done with it. I'm sure that there would be no complaints on the male half of the population. To them, I would probably be a gift. I could just here them now, bragging to their friends. I was the girl who finally got it: that you didn't always need a relationship to get what you wanted. After all, who were we really fooling here? Guys were only after one thing, and I think we all know what that is. I was just here to have fun, and that's what I would do. When I got bored with a guy, I'd simply find another one. I'm sure it was the same with men as well. After all, that's what Roger had done to me, wasn't it?

Just then I noticed that we were walking upwards. Ah, so we had made it into Hogwarts now. Fred still had his arm slung loosely around my shoulders as we made it in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

I wasn't paying any attention when Fred told the Fat Lady the password, and I found myself being hoisted up through the portrait hole. I looked up confusedly at Fred, who just grinned at me. Before I could even turn my head to look around at the common room, I was bombarded by two familiar girls.

"_Katie_!" I heard one shriek. I stumbled back a bit from the impact, and was thankful that Fred was still somewhat behind me to keep me from falling. I gave him a thankful smile, and he just nodded his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. By the time I had recovered from the first tackle, another was being thrown at me. Her long arms wrapped themselves around me, and I could feel her jumping up and down excitedly. She squealed loudly and I hissed in agitation. The two of them pulled back, giggling furiously, but they stopped when they looked at me. Gee, thanks. I didn't think I looked _that _tragic.

Angelina looked down at me worriedly. She towered at least half a foot taller than me, her being five foot eleven inches, and me being, well, _short._ "Katie dear, what _happened_?" She was the second person to ask me that tonight, and unfortunately, I knew she wouldn't be the last.

As hard as it was, I smiled up at her. "It's nothing, Ange." Her eyebrows rose at this, and she crossed her arms, as if to show that she didn't believe one word that I had just said.

I looked over to Alicia for help, but she was almost the mirror image of Angelina, and she looked disbelievingly at me as well. "Katie, you _know _we don't believe that." I rolled my eyes, and did my best to look annoyed at my two female best friends. As nice as it was that they cared this much about me, sometimes it got _really _irritating.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I hissed. I didn't want to talk about this in front of Fred. As nice of a friend as he was, and however sweet he had been about an hour ago didn't matter. He was still Fred, and I know he would never let me live tonight down if I had to spill my guts in front of him like a typical girl.

Angelina just rolled her eyes at me, and Alicia looked over to Fred for answers. No, he wouldn't _dare _tell them, would he? I shot my head around to look at him, but he had already begun speaking. "—found her at Madam Puddifoot's." I glared up at him, and he glanced down at me. "Then I just walked her back. So, there ya go." He glanced down at me, and I knew that that's all he would talk about. I gave him a small smile to show my thanks. He just crossed his arms and looked back at Alicia and Angelina. I knew he got the message.

Angelina looked suspicious, but didn't press it any further. Her eyes flicked to the chocolate flower in my hands, and back up to Fred. "Fine then. Katie, let's go." And with that, her and Alicia grabbed an arm each and dragged me up the stairs to the girls dorms after them.

I whipped my head around as much as I could back to Fred and mouthed 'help me'. I couldn't see his reaction, for we were too far up the stairs, but I heard his laughter in the common room down below. I scowled, and let the two girls drag me up to our room.

All but throwing me onto the large bed, I was careful not to crush the delicate chocolate rose. I glared up at Alicia and Angelina, who stood before me, arms crossed, looking ready to kill.

I was a little scared. You would be too, if you had been in my place. I was used to seeing Angelina look this fierce, but I had only seen Alicia look this way when we were having a match with Slytherin. This had me worried, but I put on my poker face and looked up at them.

"Alright, Bell, now I'm not going to ask again." Angelina looked terrifying, and I knew that there was no point in playing stupid. I gave in.

"Where do you want me to start then, Ange?" I spat. "The part where I was ready to tell Roger I loved him, and he _left me _at Madam Puddifoot's with none other than _Cho Chang_?" I heard Alicia gasp, but I went on. "Or how about the part where Fred found me ready to _cry_, so he brought me out of there and bought me _this_?" I pointed to the chocolate rose in my hands. Angelina's eyes flicked to it again and she looked ready to speak, but I continued on. "Or better yet, maybe I should start when I came to the conclusion that all men are scum, and that I've sworn off of any meaningless relationship forever?"

Alicia and Angelina looked shocked that I had actually given into their questioning for once, and a little horrified at the news I had just given to them. Alicia immediately sat down on the bed next to me, and wrapped an arm around me, much like a mother would do to her child. Angelina just stood there looking flabbergasted, and eventually came to sit next to me.

I even surprised myself. I no longer felt like I needed to cry over Roger. My new found motto rang through my head, and I was too angry to be sad over the unexpected breakup. I wouldn't get even with Roger, and I would definitely not cry over him. I was Katie Bell, and I would show him—and the rest of the world, for that matter—just what I thought of every male on this planet.

The three of us just sat in silence for the rest of the night, none of us knowing what to say about the whole situation. Eventually we all made our way to our own beds, drifting off to sleep.

Thankfully, I didn't dream that night.

**Author's Note: Okay, so I understand that this is kinda a filler chapter, but let me warn you right now that the story is going to start flying by from now on. Weeks will go by in chapters, so just be ready for that. Anyone in particular you want to see Katie with? Drop a review and let me know. PS: Happy Valentine's day, all! Please R&R ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

The next few days I expected Katie to be down right miserable, and be hung up over that bloody tosser Roger Davies. I was wrong.

And that's where the problem was. Katie seemed just a little _too _fine with the fact that he had left her for another girl. She wasn't sad, and she didn't even seem _angry_. This upset me a great deal, and whenever I wasn't around her, I was pressing Angelina and Alicia for answers regarding to Katie's behavior. They had finally had enough of me this morning, and were both successfully ignoring me. A task that is _very _hard to do, let me assure you.

The fact that Katie wasn't hung up over Davies should be good news to me, but it wasn't. Any normal best friend would be happy that they weren't depressed over the breakup. I wasn't any normal best friend. I, Fred Weasley, _fancied _my best friend. Me!

I was all too excited the day after Valentine's Day. I woke up extra early and waited down in the common room for Katie Bell to make her way down that morning all sad and in need of some cheering up. She would be close to tears like the night before, and I would be just the person she needed to cheer her up. She would come and sit down on the overstuffed couch next to me, and cry into my shoulder, and I would make her laugh and help her through this rough time. I would come to her rescue, much like any man would do in those muggle fairy tale books.

I would be her _knight in shining armour, _as they had called it. And she would realize that once she was over Davies that I was the one who had helped her through it, and therefore, I was the one she should be with.

I knew I sounded ridiculously cheesy and so un-Fredlike, but I couldn't help it.

As of late, Katie Bell had that kind of effect over me, and I simply _hated it_.

She wasn't distraught over the breakup. At all. She didn't need anyone to comfort her, much to my dismay. She didn't look ready to break down crying, so therefore, she didn't need my shoulder to cry on. She wasn't looking to get even with Davies, so she didn't come to George and I for pranks.

All in all, it appeared as if Katie Bell didn't need me.

This put me in a foul mood the past few days. After all, what was a guy to do when the girl he fancied didn't appear as if she didn't need you?

I did everything I could for her these past few days. I held open doors, I carried her broom after Quidditch practice, I walked her to class, and I even did a number of her assignments. They weren't anything too challenging—after all, she was a year younger than the rest of us. When would she see that I was dropping hints left and right for her?

…_.A week later..._

I stabbed my fork into the food on my plate halfheartedly that afternoon, not even paying attention to what I was eating. Alicia was busy studying for some potions exam that we had today. George kept glaring at Lee, who was busy flirting his head off to Angelina, who for once, looked like she was enjoying it. I rolled my eyes at my brother. He wouldn't admit to anyone that he fancied Angelina since first year. I took every opportunity to bug him about it, and he often spat back that I should just snog Katie already. One time he almost said this in front of her, so I stopped bothering him on the subject of Angelina.

Instead, I kicked him underneath the table and cocked my head towards Lee and Angelina. He scowled at me and cocked his head over to the entrance of the Great Hall. My head shot over there immediately, and my mouth visibly fell open.

Katie Bell was _flirting _with Cormac McLaggen shamelessly, and he was eating it all up. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them. I lost my appetite and my stomach sank. Have some _class _Katie. You know you could do so much better than McLaggen.

Staring at them for who knows how long left me speechless. It brought me back to when I would compare myself to Davies. Now I found myself doing the exact same thing with McLaggen. What would it take for Katie to see that I was here for her? I would kill to be in that prat's place right now—to have Katie flirting with me. I know I sounded desperate but I didn't care.

George kicked me underneath the table once again. I grunted in response, but still didn't tear my eyes away from the pair.

"Oi, Fred-o, wake _up_!" George threw what felt like a bread roll at my head, and it bounced off and fell to the table. I flicked my eyes to him and glared.

"What?" I spat. He was really being annoying lately. He just wouldn't lay off the fact that Katie hadn't paid any extra attention to me the past few days, and I was ready to beat him over the head with Alicia's potions book.

George rolled his eyes at me and swallowed whatever it was he was eating. "You know bloody well _what, _brother." His eyes flicked over to the pair, who were holding hands laughing now. My breath hitched in my throat, and I looked away quickly. Damn bloody twin always knowing what I was bloody thinking...

"Fred, just pluck up the courage to ask her out already, would ya?"

I scowled and whispered back to him pointedly. "I will when _you will, _George." My eyes flicked to Angelina. George's followed, blushed, and glared at me.

"Deal." He whispered back just as menacingly.

Alicia, who had gone almost the whole day without saying two words, spoke up. "You two are just so _hopeless_." What was she talking about? How much did this blond girl know?

George fidgeted in his seat and spoke before I could. "What are you talking about, 'Lic?"

Alicia put her quill down for the first time that day and rolled her eyes. She fixed her all-knowing gaze on each of us. "George, just go over there and ask Ange out already, would you?" George was about to speak, but Alicia cut him off. "And _you, _Fred." She looked over at Katie and Cormac, then back to me. "Just snog her already, would you please? I _really _don't want to hear her and Cormac tonight."

My stomach felt sick at her words. "What do you mean, _you don't want to hear her and Cormac tonight_?"

Alicia rolled her eyes and went back to her potions essay. "Fred, _honestly_, are you _stupid _or something?" These words confused me further. What did Alicia know that I didn't? Seeing that I wasn't catching on, she sighed heavily. "Katie's been snogging Cormac the past three days every night in the common room, you wanker." She spoke pointedly and stated this as if it were a known fact, and that I must be mental to not know. Those words stung, and my head dropped.

"Oh." Oh? That was _all _ I could say? I felt defeated, rejected, humiliated.

I knew I didn't deserve Katie, and I was just fooling myself thinking that my best friend could see me that way. I _was _stupid.

Alicia looked up at me apologetically. "Fred, I'm sorry, but you really _should _just pluck up the courage and tell her how you feel."

I jumped up at this. "And what exactly _is that, _Alicia? Since you seem to know how I feel, please, enlighten me. I don't feel any special way for Katie Bell. Now get that through your little blonde head, would you already?" Alicia looked hurt by my words, and I was glad. I was sick of her butting into my life for today.

"Fred, I—"

"No, Alicia, I don't want to hear it. Mind your own damn business already, would you?" And with that, I stormed out of the Great Hall. I didn't even see Cormac and Katie standing around, and I didn't care if I did or not.

…_.Up at Gryffindor's Common Room About an Hour Later..._

"Fizzing Whizzbee's." I spat icily to the Fat Lady. She gave me a worried look, but opened up anyways. I took a step into the common room and my head spun when I heard the voices in there.

I saw that Katie was giggling furiously as Cormac Mc-bloody-Laggen was half-dragged her down from the boy's dorms. His tie was tied backwards around his neck, and one of his shoe's wasn't tied. He was smirking, and kept looking back at her giggling behind him.

Katie was another story all together. Whereas Cormac at least _tried _to straighten himself up, Katie had not. Or if she had, she had failed miserably. One of her socks was inside-out, and the other wasn't even pulled up all the way. Her skirt was wrinkled and pulled up just a little _too _high to be deemed appropriate for dress code, and her long sleeved blouse wasn't buttoned up all the way. Her tie hung haphazardly around her neck, and her hair was all disheveled, looking like it did one Quidditch practice she had forgotten to tie it back.

Cormac reached the bottom step and pulled Katie down after him, kissing her roughly. She laughed and grabbed him, pulling her up against him. His hands around her waist inched lower and lower... My throat tightened, and I clenched my fists.

I finally had enough. I cleared my throat loudly, and began to walk towards the stairs to my room. "Oi, get a _room, _would you already?" I spat as menacingly as I could. Katie jumped, and Cormac stepped back a little.

I was now standing next to the couple, about a foot away. I glared at Cormac, who stood a few inches below me. He smirked, and slung an arm around Katie's waist. I clenched my fists tighter. "Just came from one, Weasley." His smirk seemed to get even bigger, and his eyes shone up at mine. I wanted nothing more than to shove my fist in his face, but I refrained from doing so.

I looked down at Katie. Even though I was furious at her, and her hair was all messed up, and her lips were slightly bruised, she still looked so great. I sounded like an idiot thinking that, but I didn't give a rat's ass at this point. I just walked in on my _best friend, _the girl I bloody _fancied _walking down from Merlin knows what with Cormac Mc-bloody-Laggen. You could say I wasn't in the best of moods.

Her big brown eyes looked up at mine, confused. She shrugged out of Cormac's hold and attempted to smooth her clothes and hair out, straightening up. "F-Fred, I—"

I simply shrugged, not trusting myself to speak right now. "Whatever, Katie. See you later." I took the steps to the boy's dorms two at a time, throwing myself on my bed, forcing myself to fall asleep.

…_.Three Weeks Later..._

Neither Katie nor I spoke about the whole Cormac incident. I did notice that she no longer was around him anymore, and that he had thankfully moved on to some unsuspecting Hufflepuff girl. About a week after I had found her and him together, we started acting like we normally did around one another, pretending as if nothing had changed. We took Hogsmeade trips together, and I continued to drop hints to her that I was here for her, and that I liked her as more than a friend.

These hints seemed to fly right over her head, much to my disappointment. George would give me his annoying pep talks every night when I was ready to give up on her, and I continued to try to talk him into asking Angelina out. My attempts proved pointless, for he was just as stubborn as me or Katie was. Whenever I got close to him plucking up the courage to confront Angelina, he reminded me of our little bet. When he asked Angelina out, I would ask Katie. I would sigh in frustration, and we would both steer clear of the subject, taking our minds off it with pranks on unsuspecting first years.

There was a particularly warm March day—a week and a half before our birthday—when I was quite literally bouncing off the walls. It had me in high spirits for the rest of the day, and the girls all mad at me. It was great.

George and I just finished gathering up all of the Quidditch equipment that day after practice, and everyone else had either made it back to the castle or was still in the locker rooms, showering before dinner. Oliver was naturally still flying around over head, trying to beat his best time from hoop to hoop. George said something under his breath about Wood and sniggered. I had laughed too, but the joke was unforgotten a moment later.

I grabbed the trunk of balls, and George slung our brooms over his shoulder lazily. I threw the things in the broom shed, and we ambled over to the locker rooms slowly. My muscles were sore from an especially long and hard practice, and it felt like we were walking around for hours before we had finally reached the locker rooms.

I noticed Harry had already left with Ron, and they were walking side by side of none other than Hermione Granger. George and I nodded our hello's to the three of them, and they waved back. Ron ran up to ask George something, and I continued to walk towards Gryffindor's locker room to get a quick shower in before dinner.

Stepping into the steamy room, I stopped in the doorway, listening in on the girl's conversation going on.

"—_Lee_!" I heard Alicia exclaim. Hearing Katie laugh, I smiled. She hated her laugh, but I couldn't get enough of it. I shook my head and focused on the conversation once again.

"Well, sure, why not? I mean, Lee's been in love with me since_ forever, _so why shouldn't I go to spend the summer with him and his family for a week or two? I think it's harmless." Angelina was talking, and I suddenly felt bad for my brother. Lee wasn't the only one that's been in love with Angelina since day one. George was hopelessly in love with her as well.

I heard a snort, and then Katie speak. "Ange, Lee isn't the _only one _that's been in love with you _since forever, _you know." I pressed myself up against the wall even further. What was Katie getting at? Did she know about George? _Of course she knows about George, you idiot. The three of you are best mates. _

"What do you _mean, _Katie?" I could almost see all of the girl's expressions. Katie lowered her voice a tad before speaking.

"Honestly, Angelina, are you blind? George _fancies _you, you idiot!" Alicia laughed at Katie's words, and I smiled. Hopefully this would help George. "And I thought _Alicia _was the blond one." Katie and Angelina laughed, and I heard Alicia protest, but was silenced by the laughter.

"That's not true..." I heard Angelina say. Did she sound...hopeful?

"Yes, it _is. _Now just shut up already, would you? I say go for it with George, he _really_ does fancy you, you know." Alicia sighed at Katie's words.

"You're so _lucky, _Ange. George and Fred are so _cute_!" My eyes bugged out at Alicia's words. Alicia Spinnet thought George and I were... Cute? She was like a little sister to me. I shuddered at the thought of doing anything with Alicia. "Wouldn't you agree, _Katie_?" Huh? What was Alicia _getting at_?

Silence filled the room for a moment before I heard Katie speak. "Well, uh, yes, I mean, um, you know... I suppose they're not _hideous_." She sounded nervous, and I tried my best not to laugh. Well, at least she didn't think I was _hideous_. That was a good starting point, right?

"So you like him? Or, one of them? Who would you rather go out with?" Damn Alicia. Whenever she wanted to know something, she got right to the point.

I could almost see Katie fidgeting around at Alicia's interrogation. "Well, Fred, I suppose." My heart sang at hearing her words. She'd rather have me!

"So you like him then?" It was Angelina who spoke. I was eager to hear Katie's answer, but George showed up, and pulled me inside the locker room. I wish I could have hit him. I wanted so badly to hear her answer.

"Shower time!" George sang out. He blindly walked into the room with the girls in it, dragging me behind him. He threw me out in front of him, and both of us had to shield ourselves from the screams and things being thrown at us.

"_Get out!_" The three girls shrieked.

"_Bloody HELL, get OUT!_" A shoe hit me in the chest, and something whirled by George's head. I laughed, and turned to face the girls, to see what all the fuss was about.

Angelina was ripping her Quidditch robes on, and throwing anything at the two of us she could grab. Alicia was busy running back to the showers, clutching her clothes to her. She dropped what she had been throwing and looked at me. Katie stood there looking like she didn't know what to do or say—in nothing but a towel. My eyes bugged out of their sockets at seeing her standing there. Her hair was dripping wet, and she was in nothing but a towel. Suddenly, my pants felt tighter, and I dodged another shoe being thrown at me. I cursed myself silently, and looked over to George, who was laughing hysterically, trying to throw things back at Angelina.

"You know, Ange, this look isn't half bad for you—OW!" I looked over at Angelina, who was clutching the robes to her tightly, and George, who was rubbing his head. I laughed, but yelped when something hard hit the side of my head, and I fell to the floor. Everything looked a little fuzzy, and I felt a little lightheaded. I tried to grab something to steady myself, and to keep the room from spinning, but failed. I settled for holding my head, and I moaned.

Seeing through the spinning room, I saw Katie run over and kneel down beside me in her towel. I groaned inwardly at seeing her like this, but tried to play up my head injury to its fullest.

"Fred! I am _so sorry_! I didn't mean to hit you that hard, and I just didn't think and—" I tuned her out, and tried to focus on keeping my eyes open. I looked at her again. Her hair was dripping down on me, and she clutched the towel up against her.

"S'okay, don't worry, Kates." I tried to smile, and I thought I heard her laugh.

"No, Fred, I can't believe I did that! Is you head okay? Let me take a look at it—"

"—no, it's okay, Kates, I got it—"

And as we both fought over my head's well being, in the midst of our arguing, her towel fell from around her as she leaned over to get to my head. My eyes bugged out, and my gaze flicked up from her face to the rest of her. Her eyes were as big as saucers, and she turned redder than Gryffindor's colors. She clutched the towel around her again, and scrambled backwards a little. The whole ordeal only lasted about three seconds tops, but that was enough for me. I could feel my face burning from embarrassment, and I tried my best to not smile like a fool.

I just saw Katie Bell naked.

Best day of my life.


	11. Chapter 11

To say that the next three or so days have been awkward would have been an understatement. Angelina kept her distance from George, who kept trying to joke it off. When Lee heard about the whole 'locker room' situation, he was ready to push George into the Black Lake with the squid. Him and George have made up since, but you could tell that Lee would have killed to have been in George's place. George took every opportunity he could to rub it in to Lee's face that he had seen Ange half naked, and every time he did, Angelina would hit him over the head.

Alicia would avoid everything that had to do with talking about that night, and she would change the subject faster than anyone could say Godric Gryffindor on anyone who would try. As for Fred and I, well, things were beyond awkward. It was bad enough that I had hit him, and he almost blacked out, and it was bad enough that I had run over to him in nothing but a towel, but the worst thing was that that damn towel had fallen off of me, leaving me exposed to the eyes of my best friend for about three full seconds.

Neither of us wanted to be the one to bring it up, so we just kept our mouths shut. Angelina and Alicia kept trying to figure out what had happened, but I brushed it off as nothing.

So now it was only a few days until the twin's birthday, and I had no clue what to get either of them. I opted for some Quidditch equipment, but I struck that off the list immediately. The boys were turning sixteen, it had to be something special.

I knew right then and there what I would get them. Later that night, I owled my cousin Michael Bell, who was good friends with the heads of the team captain of Ireland's Quidditch team. This was going to be great.

…_.April First..._

It was a Wednesday, and today was the twin's sixteenth birthday. The presents I had owled my cousin for had just came in last night, and I held them behind my back. I was pacing at the bottom of the boy's stairs when I had gotten too impatient. Tired of waiting for the boys to wake up, I ran up to the boy's dormitories and finally located the room where Fred and George slept. I barged my way in, waking up one of their roommates who just grunted and went back to sleep. He was actually kinda cute...

Breaking myself out of those thoughts, I giggled and flung myself onto George's bed, bouncing up and down.

"_Happy birthday_!" I continued bouncing up and down obnoxiously, chanting those two words over and over again. George finally grunted and his eyes peeled open, looking shocked to see me up here.

"Katie, go _away_. It's _early_."

I rolled my eyes at him and hit him over the head with a pillow. "Who _cares, _George? It's your _birthday_!" I grinned like a little kid down at him, and he mirrored my smile. "Now I have to go get Fred up! He's _always _the difficult one!" And with that, I crawled over George, who grunted as my knees dug into his stomach, and I ran over to Fred's bed.

"Rise and _shine, _birthday boy!" I squealed. Flinging myself onto Fred's bed, I landed next to him, and he grunted.

"Get the hell off my bed."

I giggled loudly. "Now, now, Freddie, that's no way to talk to a girl!"

He grunted and threw a pillow over his head. "But you're _Katie, _so it's different."

I pouted, and fake sniffled. "But _Fred_!" I whined. "It's your _birthday_!"

I heard him sigh, and he rolled over to face me. I ripped the pillow away from his face and threw it over to George, who just laughed. He stuck his tongue out at me, and I laughed at him.

I started bouncing on his bed like I did to George's a few minutes ago. "Now _wake up_!"

Fred laughed sleepily and grabbed me around the waist. I yelped, and he pulled me down on top of him. I blushed scarlet at this, but still kept the grin on my face there.

"Now tell me, Kates. How can someone so small be so _annoying_?" He winked, and I giggled.

"It's a gift, I guess. Now... _Get up_!" I tried to break out of his hold, but he just grinned up at me.

"Don't think so Kates..." He smiled mischievously, and suddenly, he began to tickle me. How dare he! He _knows _I hate that!

"F-Fred, st-stop that no-now!" I sputtered out between fits of laughter. I kicked about, trying to get away, but he just pinned me down closer to him, tickling me faster and faster. Naturally he knew where I was ticklish most, and naturally he would decide to be extra mean today. "S-s-stop th-this at o-once, F-Fred, or I wo-won't give you y-your p-pre-present!" I shrieked as he continued tickling, but it stopped after a moment or two.

"Fine, you win. But _just _because I want my present." I rolled my eyes at him, and sat up in Fred's bed.

"Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night." I tossed a small package over to a laughing George, who caught it easily.

"Aw Kates, you _shouldn't have_!" George batted his eyelashes and began ripping open the package eagerly.

I rolled my eyes at him and handed Fred his identical package. "Happy birthday."

He grinned, and took the package, but didn't open it.

"What?" Did he need a bloody invitation to open it?

Fred grinned wickedly down at me. "Don't I get a happy birthday kiss?" He winked at me, and I did my best not to blush. Damn these traditions.

"Sure, sure." Fred smirked, but it fell when I spoke again. "_After _I give George his."

He scrunched his face at me and I giggled, hopping off his bed. I could hear him opening his present from behind me, and just as I reached George, he cried out happily.

"Katie! I love you! How did you get these?" George was beyond excited now, and spoke in a rush. I laughed, pecked him on the cheek, and sat down next to him.

"Never mind that, George. Happy birthday." George grinned and hugged me tightly. I laughed, and made my way back to Fred, who was looking down disbelievingly at his ticket to Ireland's next Quidditch match against France.

"Like it?" I smirked at his delighted face, and all he could do was nod. I sat down next to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday, Fred."

He smiled happily. "Thanks, Kates. I love it."

…_.April Ninth..._

"What's _this_?" I squeaked and jumped off of what's-his-name in the broom cupboard on the third floor. Professor Flitwick looked up at me and... Bloody hell, what was this boy's _name_? I straightened myself up and smoothed down my hair quickly. I shot a glance over at the seventh year boy I was just snogging the brains out of, who was smoothing out his shirt. He glanced over at me and I motioned to the corner of my mouth and tried not to giggle. He wiped the lip gloss away quickly and looked down at Professor Flitwick sheepishly.

"Miss _Bell_! This is the _third time _this _week_!" I did my best not to laugh, and painted a face of shame and guilt over my face.

I hung my head. "Sorry Professor."

I heard Flitwick sigh and I saw from the corner of my eye that he shook his head. I looked up, trying to appear apologetic. Flitwick looked up at the boy. "You are free to leave, Matthew. Don't let this happen again." Aha! That was his name. Matt left and smiled back at me, waving his goodbyes. I gave a small wave back, and looked down to my Charms professor.

He shook his head again and clicked his tongue in dismay. "Miss Bell, I don't know what has gotten into you as of late, but _please, _let us not make a habit out of this." I nodded, only half listening to the little man that stood before me. "Now run along."

I smiled gratefully down at him and began walking away. I thought I heard Flitwick mutter something under his breath, but I shrugged it off and went to go find Leanne or something to do.

…_.April Thirteenth..._

Mondays were _always _horrendously slow, so I decided to find someone to snog until dinner. I was done with classes for the day, thank Merlin, and was in need of some serious entertainment.

Walking happily down the halls of Hogwarts, I started to hum a Weird Sisters song to myself. I wasn't paying too much attention to where I was going when I had bumped into none other than Cedric Diggory himself. He was walking all alone, going in the opposite direction of me when I knocked myself over after bumping into his chest. I fell on my butt on the cold stone floor.

"Ow.." I muttered.

Cedric was immediately standing before me, holding out a hand. Typical Hufflepuff...

"Oh! Katie! I'm terribly sorry, I didn't even see you there!" Huh. Who knew that Diggory knew my name. I smiled on the inside, remembering back in my first two years at Hogwarts when I had a crush on Cedric Diggory. I used to spend all of my free time dreaming up scenarios like this one, and how we would fall in love and get married. This seemed silly now, but I _was _in need of a serious snog, and Cedric _wasn't _that bad looking... "Here, let me help you up."

I smiled gratefully and took his hand. He helped me up, and smiled down at me. "Thanks, Cedric. I should apologize, too. I wasn't even paying attention to where I was walking, and I was humming a Weird Sisters song, and then I bumped into you and..." Great, now I was babbling in front of one of Hogwart's hunks. "So, I'm sorry." I smiled sheepishly.

Cedric laughed. "No worries, I'm clearly the one to blame here..." I looked Cedric up and down, taking all of him in. I'm sure that ninety percent of the female population would kill to be in my shoes right now. "Anyways, I'd like to make it up to you." He leaned in to whisper in my ear. I involuntarily shivered. "If you'd like."

He pulled back slightly and I nodded my head, a smile plastered on my face. "Sure. What'd you have in mind?"

Cedric smirked and took my hand in his. "Follow me."

And who knew that I would spend the rest of the day snogging Cedric Diggory, completely missing out on dinner.

…._A few hours later..._

I hopped into the common room, feeling like I was floating. I knew I looked like a mess, and I didn't care. I just had one of the best snogs of my _life_. With Cedric Diggory. I could die happy, right now.

I sank down on the long couch in front of the fire, not paying attention to anything in particular. I vaguely heard someone say my name, so I cocked my head in the direction of it. "Hm?"

Fred and George came and sat down on either side of me. "Well hello there, Katesy." I rolled my eyes at George, but I was still smiling like an idiot.

I saw the twins look me up and down. I looked over to Fred, who was staring at my neck. I blushed, and pulled my collar up slightly to cover the hickey I forgot I was sporting. Oops, I'd have to remember to do something about that before classes tomorrow morning...

"We missed you at dinner, Kates." George spoke first once again. I blushed, and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I was, uh—busy." I laughed nervously and George rolled his eyes.

"We can see that." Fred didn't sound amused. This had me confused, and even a little annoyed. Just because I had a good snog didn't mean he had to be _jealous_. Typical male reaction.

"Get over yourself, Fred. It was nothing."

Fred snorted and George sniggered. George reached around and pulled my collar down enough to show my mark. "Yeah, because _this _is nothing, Katesy." I glared and swatted his hand away. George just continued laughing, and pulled his hand away.

"So who was it? I thought you'd stopped that after McLaggen." I bit my lip. Fred and George didn't exactly know of my _extra curricular activities_.

"He-he. Well, you see, that's a funny story..."

Fred's eyebrows shot up high onto his forehead, and George sobered up. "What do you _mean_?" Fred spoke this time, and I could tell that neither of the twins were in any mood to be joking around.

I rolled my eyes. "You two are _extremely_ unobservant, you know." Fred and George continued to stare at me, waiting for me to get to the point. I sighed. "It wasn't _just today _and Cormac, you know. There's been plenty more blokes than that."

Fred's scowl deepened, and George's eyes bugged out. "How _many more_?" Fred tried to sound calm, but I could tell something was bothering him. Honestly, I wasn't their bloody little sister! They certainly could not treat me like Ginny, I wouldn't allow it. I was fifteen years old, and I was going to be a fifth year next year. The boys needed to realize this, and they needed to start butting out of my personal life. I could do what I wanted _when _I wanted.

I did a quick count in my head of the boys I had been with the past month or so. "Um, about eight. Nine, counting today." George's eyes bugged out further and Fred looked at me angrily.

"_Nine_?" They both exclaimed. I nodded my head and crossed my arms.

"Yeah, so? It's none of your business."

George sighed and shook his head. Fred decided to verbalize his disagreement though. "It very well _is _my—_our_ bloody business! Bloody _hell, _Katie! You can't just go around _shagging _everything that has a p—"

George cut in quickly. "What I think Fred is _trying _to say," George gave Fred a look that shut him up. "is that we're just looking out for your best interest, Kates."

I glared at the twins. "I can do what I want, Fred, George." Fred looked ready to speak, but George gave him another look. "And I don't go around _shagging _everything, Fred. You should listen to your _own _advice, you know."

Fred stood up, glaring down at me angrily. "And what the hell is _that _supposed to mean?"

I jumped up and glared up at him as well. I poked him in the chest with each word I spat out. "I think you know _exactly _what that means, _Fred_. You're no saint."

I heard George sigh on the couch. I ignored him, and continued to glare daggers up at Fred. He matched my glare and we both kept silent for a few moments.

Fred was the first to speak. "I'm more _saint-like _than you'll ever be, Katie. Ever since that prat Roger broke up with you, you feel the need to go around acting like a _whore, _looking for attention all the time, and I'm _sick of it_. Just because you had _one bad breakup _doesn't mean all guys are like that. Grow up." George stood up and put a hand on Fred's arm, but he shrugged it off. George kept his mouth shut.

I was furious now. How _dare he _speak to me like that! I was no whore, and I was most certainly not seeking out attention. I felt tears in my eyes, but I blinked them back. When I got _really angry, _I cried. I wouldn't let the twins see me cry.

I stood up on the couch in the common room and glared at Fred. Even when I stood on the couch I was only an inch taller than him. I put a hand on my hip and pointed my finger at hin with the other one as I spoke.

"_Don't you _ever _talk to me like that again, Fred Weasley. I am _not _a whore, and you bloody well know that. And don't you ever tell me to grow up again, because I'm more mature than you'll ever be. You need to grow up and stay away from me. I don't ever want to see your face again._" I felt my throat tighten and the tears were in my eyes, but I continued to glare at Fred for a second longer before stepping off the couch.

I glared up menacingly at Fred once more, and then sneered at George before I turned to leave. I felt a hand grab my arm. "Katie, wait, I'm—" I ripped out of his hold and whipped around to face Fred.

"Sod off, Weasley." I spat. And with that, I stormed off to the girl's dorms, not looking back even once.


	12. Chapter 12

Her words rang through my head repeatedly. _I don't ever want to see your face again_. _Sod off, Weasley_.

I didn't mean one word of what I had said to her, and I regretted them the moment they came out. I was frustrated that she couldn't just see how much she meant to me, and she was running around giving all of her attention to every other male in the castle _but _me. Sighing in frustration I plopped myself down onto the couch. I leaned back and threw my hands over my eyes, trying to block Katie's angry face from my head.

I felt the couch sink next to me. "You know, you _really _screwed up this time, don't you?"

I turned to glare at my brother. How stupid did he think I was? "Don't you think I _know that_?" George looked at me apologetically. "What am I going to _do_?" I groaned, and threw my head against the back of the couch.

George kept silent for a moment before speaking quietly. "Dunno, but I'd give it some time. I've never seen her like this before. Not even when Flint knocked her off her broom, snapping it."

I thought back to my third year. Katie had made the team that year, even though she was a second year. It was our second match against Slytherin, and Katie just stole the Quaffle from one of the Slytherins. To say they were furious was an understatement.

Flint had knocked Katie off of her broom, stealing the Quaffle, and in doing so, snapped the front end of her broom off. She had fallen fast, and hard. Luckily George, Alicia, and I caught her and broke her fall. She broke a rib and fractured her wrist that day. George and I never left her side in the Hospital Wing.

When Katie was released from the Hospital, she sent some nasty hexes Flint's way, and in turn, he was hospitalized for half a month. When the staff found out why Marcus had been hospitalized, Katie was nearly suspended. Thankfully she just received a month of detention with McGonnigal.

She never really forgave him, but at least she's somewhat cordial to him now. Katie was a forgiving person, no matter who it was or whatever they had done, but I knew that my chances must be slim.

I prayed to whatever was out there that she would be half as merciful to me as she was to that bloody Slytherin.

"Yeah, I remember that. You think she'll ever forgive me?"

I looked over to George to see his response. He was looking up warily at the stairs leading to the girl's rooms, and he finally looked back at me. "Honestly, I have no idea, mate. You're on your own for this one. Sorry." I sighed in frustration and stared at the fire for a few moments, thinking of what I could do to have her forgive me.

After a short while I heard George yawn and get up. "I'm gonna head up to bed." I glanced up at him and nodded. "You coming?"

Shaking my head, I spoke. "Nah, that's alright. Head up without me, I'll be up in a bit."

George looked warily down at me, but nodded. "Alright. G'night, Gred."

"G'night, Forge."

…_.One Week Later..._

Walking down to breakfast ten minutes late with George by my side, we spotted our friends and made our way over to where they sat in the Great Hall. Angelina and Alicia appeared to be chatting animatedly with one another, and Lee was busy stuffing his face full of food. My eyes flicked over to where Katie sat talking to her friend Leanne—a Ravenclaw girl. Leanne looked over to where George and I were, and we continued to walk closer towards our friends. Leanne's eyes flicked back to Katie quickly after lingering on me and my brother for a moment.

Katie's head quickly snapped around to look at what Leanne had been staring at. When she spotted George and I, her eyes narrowed into an intense glare—directed at me, might I add—and she quickly whipped her head back around to face her friend.

My stomach dropped when she looked at me like that. Her glare was so full of _hate _and disgust, I couldn't even stand myself right now. I knew she must hate me, and I knew that I deserved it. However, I still couldn't help hoping that every new day that came about Katie would forgive me. Every day I was disappointed, and everyday she ignored me.

These past seven days tore at my insides, making me feel sick whenever I thought about our fight.

I was unfair to her, and now she hated me for it. Hell, I hated myself for it, too.

The first day after our fight, I had tried to talk to Katie at dinner. She didn't even look at me, and instead, got up without a word to anyone and left the table all together. Everyone but George looked at me confusedly, wanting an answer.

That was a week ago. Practically the whole school knew now that she hated my guts.

I felt George say his hellos to everyone, and I found myself sitting down next to him on the long wooden bench. I wasn't hungry at all, but I ate the first thing my hands touched, knowing that I needed to eat something.

"—tomorrow?" I heard the end of Lee's question, and realized that it was directed at me.

"Huh? Come again?" I bit into the piece of jam toast and looked over to my friend.

Lee rolled his eyes at me. "I _said, _aren't you excited for tomorrow? Honestly, Fred, sometimes talking to you is like talking to a wall."

I shrugged my shoulders and gave Lee the best of a smile I could. "And tomorrow is...?"

Lee snorted. "Seriously, _Fred_, come _on_. Hogsmeade, remember? We were gonna go to Zonko's?"

Right. How had I forgotten about that? Unfortunately I already knew the answer to that question. I had forgotten because everything as of late that didn't have to deal with Katie Bell didn't concern me. "Um, yeah. Yeah, I'll be there. I'll uh, meet you there." As I spoke, I saw Katie get up out of the corner of my eye. I brushed the crumbs from my hands and got up from the table quickly. "See you in Divination later?" I glanced over to Katie's retreating form. Lee noticed, and nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Just _try _not to be late again, mate. You know how Trelawney gets."

My eyes still looked at Katie leaving the Great Hall, and I nodded fervently to Lee. "Yeah, sure, no problem. Thanks a lot, Lee." My eyes darted to his and he just rolled his eyes at me.

"Sure thing. Just _try _not to upset her anymore, mate." Lee nodded in the direction of Katie, who had just turned to leave the Great Hall.

I nodded my understanding and hurried out of the Great Hall after Katie. She needed to know just how sorry I was, and I needed for her to talk to me again. Even if it was just once, I needed to hear her talking to _me_.

Pushing past a few second year Hufflepuffs I craned my neck to look for her. I spotted her making her way up the flight of marble steps. I half ran up behind her.

"Katie! Wait up!" I called after her, and I could tell that she had heard me, for her head moved about half an inch back at me.

She ignored me and kept walking up the stairs. I rounded the corner and made contact with the first few steps. She was already half a flight above me.

"Katie! Wait, I want to talk to you!" I didn't bother to look where I was running, and when I did look down I noticed I was taking the steps two at a time. My eyes flew back up to her. She was still ahead of me, and the stairs she had just stepped on were going to change direction at any moment. I had to get to her now if I wanted any chance of talking to her.

Pushing my legs to move even faster than they already were, I caught up with her easily, and just in time. The instant I put my foot down on the step behind her, the stairs started to move. She took two steps up away from me, still not looking at me.

"Katie," I breathed. "_Please, _I need to talk to you." I took a few steps up closer to her. She still didn't look at me, but she clutched her books to her chest.

I stared at her for a few seconds before speaking again. "Katie," I touched my fingertips to her arm, but she cringed away from me violently. I pulled my hand back quickly, almost shamefully. I didn't like her not talking to me, her _hating _me. "_please,_ just let me explain—"

She huffed at me and surprisingly, spoke. "I thought I told you to sod off." She spoke spitefully, and her voice was dripping with disdain. The stairs clicked in place and she stepped off, turning onto another flight ready to move. I followed closely behind, trying to keep my eyes from looking up her skirt. Hey, I couldn't help it. I _was _Fred Weasley—no one could change that. Not even Katie Bell.

"You did, but I just need to explain, Katie, I'm so—" I held on to the stair's rail behind her, and looked up at the back of her head, praying that she'd turn around and look at me.

As if someone had answered my silent request, her head snapped around to look at me, her eyes ablaze. "_Leave me alone, Fred. I never want to see you again._" She glared at me for a moment after that and then made her way up the stairs. I didn't go after her. Instead, I made my way down the hall and threw some old drapes behind, revealing a hole in the wall.

Making my way down the secret passageway, I thought about our brief encounter on the stairs minutes ago. So she had said she didn't want to see me again, and she wanted me to leave her alone. I wouldn't let that discourage me from pursuing her though. Yes, she hated me at the moment, and sure, she probably would enjoy nothing more than seeing me drown in the Black Lake, but I loved her.

Wait, go back there.

Since when did I go from fancying my best friend to being in love with her?

**Author's Note: Okay, so I realize that almost no one reads these things, but I would love to hear back from anyone reading this story. It's over half done, and I am _so _grateful for all of the reviews I have received so far, but _please, _would anyone reading this just drop _one _itty-bitty review? Please? They mean the world to me, and I love to hear all of your ideas. Katie's going to be with a Slytherin next chapter, as requested, so please, if anyone is reading this story, _please review_. I'll be so grateful! Have a great day!**


	13. Chapter 13

Completely flustered from my spat with Fred on the stairs earlier, I all but tripped into my Transfiguration class. McGonnigal quirked an eyebrow at me from where she sat at her desk, and I blushed scarlet. She was probably wondering why I was at class half hour early. I smiled at her sheepishly and put my things on my desk, organizing my things mindlessly for who knows how long.

To my surprise, Professor McGonnigal spoke to me softly—not yelling at me for once. "Miss Bell, is everything alright?"

I brought my head up slowly to look at the head of my house. Do I lie and tell her that everything is fine, or do I act like a complete fool and tell her all of my problems, burdening her with them? I nodded, and gave a small smile. "Um, yeah, I'm fine, Professor. Thanks." I tried to widen my smile, but I'm sure I looked miserable.

McGonnigal sighed and got up from her desk, making her way over to me. "You know that I know you better than that, Miss Bell." McGonnigal seemed almost _pleasant _today. The scowl she usually wore on her face when she was talking to me was gone, and it was replaced with a small, sad smile and twinkling eyes. "Now, would you like to try that again?" She smiled sweetly to me, and I knew that she was genuinely concerned about me.

She must have noticed how different I had been acting this past week, and I suddenly wondered how many of my other professors realized as well.

I sighed and looked up at my professor, laughing slightly. "You know me too well, professor." I gave her a sad smile. "I guess I'm still upset over a fight I had last week. It's nothing, though." Liar. The fight was _not _nothing, and I know bloody well that I'm more than upset at that prat Fred Weasley. Insufferable git.

My Transfiguration professor sighed again and shook her head. She walked around the desks and sat next to me. "And does this concern a Mr. Weasley?" Damn McGonnigal and her all-knowingness. I nodded in defeat.

"You could say that. But it doesn't matter—we're not friends any longer. I don't need him." The words came out of my mouth awkwardly, and they felt weird saying them, but still liberating. I was confused at this, but did not dwell on it any further.

"You know I don't believe that either, dear."

I nodded. "I know."

McGonnigal stared at me intensely as she spoke. "He hasn't been the same for about a week, you know." Merlin, was this weird. I felt like I was having a boy talk with my mother, not the head of my house. Who knew McGonnigal could be... kinda cool? Surely not me. "He pays even less attention than usual, and he doesn't disrupt my class any more. Normally I'd be happy about this, but I know that this is not normal behavior for the Weasley twins. I think he's very upset as well."

"With all due respect, professor, I haven't the foggiest idea of what you're talking about." I crossed my arms over my chest, and leaned back in my chair. My eyes flicked to her, and all she did was shake her head slightly.

"Miss Bell, I don't know what exactly happened between you and Mr. Weasley, but might I suggest something?"

I nodded my head, and she continued. "Don't stay mad at him forever. He cares for you, please know that." I opened my mouth to speak, but she continued on before I could get a word in to object. "I'm not telling you to do one thing or another, but if I were you," Her eyes flicked to the door, seeing some other students filing in lazily. "I would talk with him. Clear the waters." McGonnigal lowered her voice and stood. "And please know that I am here for you, Miss Bell, if you ever need to talk."

I nodded. "Thanks, professor. I'll remember that."

McGonnigal scanned the room at the other students, and smiled down at me. "Good." And with that, McGonnigal walked away to the front of the room, ready to start class. That was officially one of the most awkward conversations I had ever had with an adult in my life.

…_.After Transfiguration..._

Gathering my things quickly and careful to write down tonight's assignments, I hurried out of the classroom into the crowded halls of Hogwarts. I milled through the mass of students, glad to have a free period this early in the day.

I glanced to my left and saw a seventh year Slytherin make his way over to me. He smiled and gave me a wave. Crap, what was I going to do? I've never had a conversation with this boy, and I couldn't really judge him just by looking at him, but he _was _a Slytherin, and Slytherins _were _known to be not the nicest of people. I smiled and gave a small wave back at him nervously. He was getting closer now. Wanting to get away from this boy, I scanned the crowd for anyone familiar, and I felt a frown come upon my face when I spotted two identical red heads making their way through the crowd my way.

My stomach knotted and this morning's encounter with Fred replayed in my head almost instantly. The anger I had felt before when telling him to leave me alone found its way back inside of me, and I wanted to do anything to get away from the two oncoming Weasleys. I saw George notice me standing there, and he nodded his head. I ignored him, and turned to look at the Slytherin boy that was less than four feet away from me now.

"Hello, there." Crap, he was talking to me. I looked up at him and smiled. Merlin, was he _tall_. Probably a few inches taller than the twins, at least.

"Oh, um, hi." I spoke in a soft voice, and glanced warily at the twins, who were drawing nearer. Fred still hadn't noticed me standing here. Good.

"You're Katie Bell, right?" My attention went back to the tall boy in front of me. I looked back up at him, and nodded. He wasn't half bad looking... He had dark, slightly wavy hair and dark eyes with thick lashes.

I blinked once before speaking. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

He laughed lightly and blushed slightly. Wait, a Slytherin blushing? Were my eyes deceiving me? I had made a seventh year, extremely good looking Slytherin _blush_?

"Oh, right, how rude of me." Another laugh. "I'm Jack, by the way."

I smiled up at him warmly. "Well, Jack, nice to meet you." Huh. Who knew that Slytherins could actually be... pleasant? "You still haven't answered my question though. How did you know my name?"

He rolled his eyes slightly and smirked. I laughed. "You play Quidditch. I've seen you play." Oh, right. I felt extremely dumb right now. "You're pretty good, too." He flashed a wide smile. "For a Gryffindor." He winked, and I felt my cheeks flush.

I glanced to my right and saw Fred and George still drawing closer, but they were still out of ear shot.

"Oh, well thanks. You know, that's pretty sweet of you," I stepped closer to him. "for a Slytherin." I winked just like he did, and he laughed.

Jack leaned in closer to me. "You know, that's not the only sweet thing about me." I could feel his breath on my face, and I flushed again. I was bloody flirting with a bloody Slytherin!

Feeling extremely bold right now, I smirked and spoke as seductively as I could to him, batting my eyelashes. "Really? Well now, _prove it_." I took half a step back from him and smiled coyly.

Jack smiled widely down at me. I looked over to Fred and George, who were almost to where I was standing now. Fred had finally noticed me standing there, and took in the Slytherin male with me. He looked like he glared at him, but it happened too fast for me to notice anything.

"Katie, hey, wait up! Can we talk?" I heard Fred calling after me. I _really _did not want to talk.

Panicking, I grabbed Jack's wrist, and tugged lightly. "C'mon, wanna go find somewhere a little more," I flicked my eyes over to Fred. "_private_?" I flashed him one of my best smiles and peeked up to gauge his reaction through my lashes.

He seemed to take the bait, and smirked. "Sure thing, babe. Wherever you like." Wanting to roll my eyes so badly at his nickname for me, I decided to just pull him along hurriedly past the twins, ignoring Fred's attempts to talk to me.

I vaguely remember heard George telling Fred to forget about it, but then again, I could have imagined it.

I continued to tug Jack along, winding through the students and around corners until we were on the third floor. The bell had already rung for classes, and no students were supposed to be out in the halls right now, even if we had a free period.

I spotted Filch down the hall, and he thankfully hadn't seen either of us yet. I froze, and didn't know what to do. I looked up to the Slytherin boy for help, and he grabbed me, and pulled me into a secret passage behind a large plant. I can't believe I forgot about that one. Stupid.

"C'mon, I can get us into the library from here."

I nodded and he led me down the cramped passageway, my hand in his large one. My head was still whirling with the events from today when we stepped out into the light of the library.

I tripped over the stone and stumbled into Jack. He caught me easily and chuckled quietly. "You know, I never would have pictured you this clumsy off the broom." He smirked, and I scrunched my face up at him, which just caused him to laugh.

I was the one to tug on him now, leading him into a section of the library that was scarcely used, and where no one could hear us.

Turning around to ask Jack where he wanted to go, I was surprised to have him pin me up against the stone wall. I flushed at how close we were, but I kept my brown eyes locked on his almost black ones. His eyes bore into mine intensely, and I could feel his hot breath on my face. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine, and we were pressing ourselves up against one another hungrily.

I ran my fingers through his hair, which was surprisingly soft, and pulled his head down to mine. He nipped at my lower lip, and I moaned back happily. Feeling his hands slide down farther from my back, he pressed me up against him even more, and lifted me up a little, holding me up against the wall. I giggled and wrapped my legs around his waist, completely ignoring that we were in the library, he was a Slytherin, and that I was wearing a skirt.

He moved from my mouth to sucking on my neck, and I squeaked as he bit the skin there lightly. He set me down immediately and I could feel his hands running up and down my body quickly.

I moved my hands from his hair to his chest, rubbing up and down. I yelped again, having him nip lightly at my neck again. His hands responded immediately, running up under my dress shirt. Feeling his hands on my bare flesh, I decided to speak now before things got too heated in this place.

"J-ack," I squeaked. He looked up at me and smirked at my flushed face. "how about we go somewhere a little more _private, _hm?" I glanced around the library, hoping he caught my drift.

He seemed all too eager at this proposition. "Yeah, let's go. My common room should be empty right now—everyone's in class anyways."

I nodded dumbly and he all but dragged me out of the library behind him. I struggled to keep up with him, but couldn't help from giggling the whole way down to the main floor.

We were just passing the stairs to go up when I heard an all too familiar voice call my name.

I spun around, halting Jack and I. "George?"

And it was George, thankfully not Fred. "I'll just be a sec." Jack nodded and I walked a little towards George. He jogged over to me quickly, looking the Slytherin up and down behind me. "Hey." He said lamely. I didn't look up at him when I spoke.

"Hi." My shoes seemed very interesting right now.

George spoke hesitantly. "Can we talk?"

I looked over to the side, still not looking at my friend. "Sure, but can it be quick? I've kinda got some things to do.."

I heard him sigh, probably annoyed, but he spoke anyway. "Look, Katie, I don't really know what you're _doing, _but just listen to me, okay? Whatever it is you're about to do, don't. I know that you and Fr—"

I finally looked at George. "Look, George, I appreciate the concern, I really do, but _you _need to listen. I can do whatever the hell I like, and I don't need you or Fred or anybody running around trying to look after me. I can take care of myself, alright? And for the record, George, you _don't _know what's going on with Fred and I, because I'm sure whatever it is that he's told you has been a lie."

George's eyes narrowed at me, but I could tell he wasn't really mad. At least, not yet. "I may not know _exactly _what's going on between you and my brother, but I _do _know that you two need to bloody make up already, because he's driving me insane. I _know _that he's a git, Kates, I do, but you need to hear him out. Do it for me, would ya?"

How could he say that to me? George was _there _when Fred and I fought, he _knew _how upset I was. I was not about to forgive his no good brother just so everything would be peachy for him. "Not everything is about you, George." I spat icily.

"And not everything is about, you, _Katie_. You need to grow the hell up."

Jack finally came over to us. "I should have known better." He spat at George. "A _Weasley_." He sneered, and looked at me. "Look, I had a great time, but I can't be seen with you if you associate with... _him_."

I was struck dumb for a moment. What had gotten over him suddenly? "What the hell is your _problem_? The _Weasleys _are some of the best people I have ever known, and much more respectable than you'll ever be, Jack. So bugger off, will you?"

Jack glared at me and spoke so disdainfully, I cringed inwardly. "Whatever, _bitch_." I cannot believe I had just been snogging this guy about ten minutes ago, and now he was acting like this.

George stepped forward and glared at Jack, fists clenched. "Don't you _ever _talk to her like that _again_."

Jack just rolled his eyes and turned around. "Whatever, Weasley. She's all yours." And just like that, Jack had left, slithering down to the dungeons like the snake he was.

George continued to glare at Jack until he was out of sight. Turning to me, he spoke. "Look," He sighed, and took a deep breath. "I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, Kates, but just—"

"Just _what, _George?" I was really irritated at him now. The boy just needed to spit it out already.

"Just stop to smell the roses, and _open your eyes, _Katie. Fred's a wreck since you stopped talking to him, and it's really starting to upset me. If he's not happy, I'm not happy, and I _like _to be happy."

I sighed and felt my shoulders relax slightly. "Alright, George, I will. I'm not saying I forgive him, or that I promise to talk to him or anything, but I'll think about it. For you." I smiled at him, and he smiled in return. "And thanks for that back there with that bloody Slytherin. I owe ya one."

George laughed and slung an arm around me lazily. "Yeah, you do."

I laughed and hit him in the chest playfully, and he laughed back.

"Glad to have you back, Kates. I've missed you."

I smiled and leaned into George as we walked. "I missed you too, George."

"So, you'll at least consider talking to my brother?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I do. _If..._"

"...If?" George pressed.

"If you promise to not tell him about this whole thing today. I wanna talk to him on my own time, and I don't think he needs to know about Jack."

George took a deep breath and smiled down at me. "But why—"

I interjected. "—just _trust me, _George. Please?"

"Alright, but I don't like it."


	14. Chapter 14

I decided that I was in need of some serious down time before Quidditch practice tonight, so I wandered down towards the Black Lake—something I only did when I needed to clear my head. Figuring out only a short while ago that I was in fact in love with Katie Bell sent my head spinning and made my stomach do weird flips.

I knew that my feelings were one-sided, and I knew that I didn't stand a shot in hell with her, but that didn't stop me from feeling the way I did about her.

Sitting down on a soft patch of grass, I drew my legs up to my chest and rested my chin atop my bony knees. I looked out at the Black Lake, trying to stop my head reeling with the thoughts of my best friend.

"Fred?"

My eyes flicked over towards the sound of the voice. It was none other than my carbon copy: George. I smiled at my brother, and he came and sat down next to me. We sat in silence for a brief while. I didn't know if he had come to talk with me, or if he had just wanted to spend some time together. Perhaps he thought Filch was overdue for a much needed prank of ours. I smiled mentally at that thought.

"I talked to Katie today." Now that caught my attention. I turned my head lazily at him, trying to appear like I didn't care what he was talking about. The truth was that I was hanging on every word of his, wanting to hear more about her.

"Really, now what did she say?" I looked back at the lake, hoping to see the Giant Squid. "She yell at you, too?"

I snuck a look at my brother, trying to see what his reaction would be. He looked extremely confused at my question, but quickly replaced it. "No, not really." Silence followed, and every fiber of my being wanted me to press for more information, but I was too stubborn to speak. George sighed in defeat, and continued with his news. "Actually ran into her and one of her—" A quick glance in my direction, followed by a gulp. "friends." My head seemed to spin in a hundred different ways hearing this information. Ah, so my brother had found Katie and one of the lucky Hogwarts boys snogging. She's lucky it wasn't me; I would have ripped his head off.

"Is that so?" Keep it together, Fred. She's just your best friend—that hates you—the best friend you love.

"Mhmm." I could feel George's eyes on me, but I couldn't look at him. I felt like a coward, not being able to look my brother in the eye. "You know, Fred, it's okay to be upset."

I let out a sharp, quick bitter laugh and lay down in the grass. "Who says I'm upset, Forge? Surely not _me_." I looked up at my brother now, and he shook his head.

"_I _did—that's who, Fred. You need to stop pining after her, bro. I know you fancy her and all, but a guy can only take so much, right? I mean, she obviously isn't catching on, and if she _has_, she hasn't shown even the slightest—"

I had enough of hearing this. Normally George would be trying to build up my confidence, not tearing it down, shredding it to bits. I decided to interject. "Right, and if I told you the same thing about Angelina?" Hurt flashed in my brother's eyes, and I immediately felt guilty. That didn't stop me though—he needed to hear this. "Have you ever stopped running around after Angelina, after all these years, when she hasn't given you a second glance, _ever_?" I could see George shaking his head, and I knew that I had gotten through to him. "I've never told you to stop wasting your time on her, George. I know you're just looking out for me, but I can handle this." I sighed deeply before continuing.

"So she doesn't feel the way I feel about her—big deal." It was a big deal. Bigger than my brother would ever know. "And so what if she'll never see me as more than a friend—at least I can still see her everyday, and let her know that I'm here for her." Right, and let's not forget that she hates your guts right now, and would probably rather see you dead than ever be your friend again. Minor details. "If the only thing I could ever do would be to make her happy—to just see her _smile_—" I smiled a little to myself, and sat up in the grass. "then that'd be enough for me." And it was true. She gave me everything when she smiled. One of the best feelings out there was when I knew that _I, _Fred Weasley, was the reason she was smiling.

George looked at me earnestly after a brief moment. "My God, you _love_ her." My brother's words shocked me, and yet, I couldn't help how they made me feel inside—to hear them come from someone else's mouth.

"Yeah," I breathed out, looking at the small waves forming on the Black Lake. "yeah, I do."

…_.Two and a Half Weeks Later..._

My new found realization over my feelings did not change anything between Katie and my relationship. She still ignored me, and didn't even look at Quidditch. There was a thick cloud of tension that hung around whenever we were both in the same room, and I wanted nothing more than for her to talk to me again—to just _look at me again—_to make the sun come out and cast away the clouds for good.

Sure I was discouraged every now and again, but each day I reassured myself that this day would be different, and that today she would come running into my arms, and we would be friends again.

I knew that this was wishful thinking, but I was determined to see the glass as half full—_not _half empty. One day she had to forgive me, right?

She just had to.

So this particular Friday evening after Quidditch practice I found myself wandering the castle aimlessly, planting dungbombs here and there. School would be out in less than a week, and I was in some serious need of entertainment. I snickered when I saw the face of a Hufflepuff first year take some of George and I's new candies, and his face swell up, looking startlingly close to Crabbe or Goyle's. I decided to make a run for it before a teacher could find me and give me detention for it, so I ran down to the kitchens to blow off some time before everyone would be up in bed for the night.

Tickling the pear, I waltzed into the kitchen and waved to the elves.

"Mr. _Weasley_!" I heard one of them cry out happily.

"How may we be of service to you, good sir?"

"Is your brother not with you—"

"—or that pretty Miss Bell that always gets dragged along?"

"—you heard? They're currently fighting—"

"—I think that's what the humans call _breaking up_, right?"

I cleared my throat loudly and ambled towards a wooden stool, plopping myself down onto it, snatching a bread roll from a basket. Ripping off a piece of it, I chewed loudly, and one of the elves scampered over with a tall glass filled with pumpkin juice, placing it next to me.

"Thanks," I mumbled out through the bread in my mouth. Taking a swig of the sweet juice, I sighed contentedly, finally able to speak clearly. "and my brother isn't with me tonight—probably off playing some Exploding Snap with Lee. You've all met him, right?" My eyes flicked around at the little elves that stood around me, and they nodded eagerly. They were all so nice, and I genuinely enjoyed their company every so often.

"Ah yes, Mr. Jordan. The loud one, was he not?"

"Indeed, that he was. I reckon that boy can be heard 'round the castle with a voice like that. Good boy he is, good boy."

Chuckling, I took another swig of the pumpkin juice, but nearly choked on it upon hearing one of the elves speak to me. "Come again?" I sputtered out.

The elf that spoke looked up at me with innocent eyes, and smiled sheepishly. "I was only inquiring to the whereabouts of the fair Miss Bell, Mr. Weasley. Are you two no longer together?" I blinked a few times, knowing that I must look extremely stupid right now to the elves. They thought that Katie and I were _together_? I wished more than anything that that were true, but where in the world would they get an idea like that? Were my feelings for her that bloody obvious?

I shifted uncomfortably on the wooden stool. "W-where would you get an idea like that?"

I saw one of the elves roll their eyes at me, and they continued to wash dishes. "Mr. Weasley, i'nit obvious? You two obviously fancy one another, so we all just figured..."

I felt my face flush with embarassment, and I knew that my face must be a few shades redder than the red shirt I wore now. Shaking my head, I spoke. "Oh, well you see, we're not exactly _together_.."

I heard the gasps and the 'oh no's!' from the elves in the kitchen. One of them patted my knee like a mother would her young child after a bad day. "Do tell, Mr. Weasley."

Not wanting to spill out my story to the elves right now, I filled them in briefly, but they seemed satisfied enough with my explanation. When I told them I needed to depart for the night, seeing as it was a good two hours after curfew, they all waved goodbye to me, yelling out the best of luck to me and Katie, and that we should just make up already so we could visit them soon.

If only the elves knew how much I wanted Katie and I to make up as well.

Waving one last time to the elves in the kitchen, I rounded the corner and snuck up to the portrait of the Fat Lady. I noticed that it had started to rain heavily, and there was even the occasional rumble of thunder followed by a flash of lightning that lit up the corridors.

Whispering the password to the Fat Lady a few times, making sure she woke up quietly, she let me in and yawned, falling back asleep. I muttered my thanks to her and stepped into the Gryffindor common room. It was dark, and not even a fire was lit anymore. I took a small, quiet step forward, feeling the floor creak underneath.

I heard a stifled sniffle from across the room, and I felt myself freeze. Someone was up, and they were crying. Curious to see who was up this late—and upset—I took another tentative step forward, careful not to run into anything in the dark.

In an instant the common room lit up from the lightning, and in that same instant, I felt my heart drop to my stomach.

Katie Bell was curled up on the far windowsill, tears running down her face. The whole scene that lay out before me was heartbreaking, and I wanted so badly to make her better. What had made her like this? Was she hurt? If someone had lain as much as one finger on her I'd rip them apart.

The look on her face told me otherwise though. She was not hurting from the outside, but from within. Hurt.

She was broken, and I needed to fix her.

Taking a few more steps closer to her, I heard a floorboard creak from underneath, followed by a rumble of thunder. "W-who's there?" Hearing her shaking voice made me want to hold her. I could picture her now, wiping furiously at her tears, trying to see who was in the darkened common room.

I was only a few feet from her, that much I could tell. Less probably, for I could hear her breathing. Her breaths came out uneven and shaky, and I could almost see the tears on her face through the dark.

"If y-you don't an-answer, I s-swear I-I'll—"

I stubbed my toe on the windowsill before me. I had reached her. "It's me, Katie." Another rumble of thunder, and a moment later, the light flooded the room from the lightning in the sky.

She looked up at me startled, and my assumptions were correct. Tears stained her beautiful face, and she was still angry at me. In that instant though, the hate seemed to have vanished from her eyes, and for an instant, she looked like she was almost relieved to see me.

Almost.

"W-what are _you _doing here, _F-Fred_?" She spat icily through the dark, and her voice shook from the crying she had been doing. I lowered myself carefully onto the seat next to her, and I felt her scoot away from me.

"I could ask you the same thing, Kates."

"_Don't call m-me th-that._"

I chuckled sadly, wanting nothing more than for her to forgive me. I would take her pain away if I could—if she would let me. "Fair enough."

I heard her sniffle violently, and I saw the outline of her arm wiping more tears away. "You still didn't answer my question." Her voice was not shaking any longer, but the malice was still laced in every word.

I sighed, and squinted through the dark, trying to see her. "I was in the kitchens," I spoke softly, and slowly scooched closer to her. She didn't move. "and I decided that I should probably head back up, maybe start packing things up for summer."

Lightning flashed, and I could see her looking at me sadly, eyes narrowed. She was still curled up on the sill, clutching her sides.

Silence.

"And what are _you _doing up here, crying?"

"I am not cr—"

"Shut _up, _Katie. You know that I know you better than that—whether you want to admit it or not." Even if you hate me, I wanted to say. "Now tell me: _why are you crying_?"

She didn't answer me, and I sighed deeply, trying to think straight.

Katie was talking to me—that was an accomplishment. I still had both of my arms, and she didn't run away. This must be good.

"_Lumos_." I whispered, and my wand lit up, showing me her sad, beautiful face.

Thunder sounded in the distance, and her eyes searched mine, almost pleading with them silently. I furrowed my brow at this, confused. What do I do?

Gathering up all of my Gryffindor strength I could, I took a deep breath. "Katie, I _know _you must hate me right now—but you need to hear me out." I looked down momentarily before meeting her perplexed eyes filling up with tears. "I am _so sorry_, Kate. _You have no idea _how much I regret what I said to you—it's killed me, knowing how horrible I was. I was just je—" I cut myself off. I wouldn't tell her I was jealous. Now was not the time. "I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness—I'm not asking for it—but _please Katie,_ please just don't _hate me_. I can't take it anymore. It's killing me, knowing that you hate me."

I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, and opened them, fixing my gaze on her.

In a matter of seconds she had flown over to me, and was clutching me tightly. I could feel her tears soak through my shirt, and I circled my arms around her, relishing in the fact that Katie Bell had seemingly forgiven me. She was hugging me.

I had a chance.

There was _hope_.

"P-please, d-don't _ever s-say that_." She sobbed. "I could never _h-hate _you, F-Fred. I—" But she couldn't finish, for she cut herself off from crying so hard. It broke my heart into hundreds of pieces, but her words pieced them back together, making my heart sing with joy. She didn't hate me—she never did.

"Shh, it's okay. I know, shh." There was nothing else for me to say. Right now I had to be serious. This was not a fight where I could joke and we would laugh and make up. She was hurt badly, and she needed this right now.

Hell—_I_ needed this right now.

"_F-Fred,_" She spoke softly through the tears, and I lifted her face up to look at me, holding it between my hands. "_forgive me_."

Again, my heart broke and pieced itself back together.

"I should be the one begging for _your _forgiveness, my dear."

She shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I was rotten to you, Fred Weasley, and I know it. I'm _so sorry _for it—please know that. Please say _you _don't hate _me_."

I leaned in closer to her, still cupping her face in my hands. "I could never hate you, Kates." And I kissed the top of her head, drawing her in for a tight embrace. She snaked her hands around my waist, pulling herself up against me tightly. I inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of strawberries and vanilla that always hung around her. God I missed this.

I missed _her_.

She twisted away from our embrace to lean back against my chest, her head resting on it. I rubbed her hair absentmindedly, trying to make her stop crying.

"You know," I said easily, still worried that she would cry harder. "you never did tell me why you're up here all alone like this."

I waited a moment, and heard her take a shaky breath before speaking. She was crying again. "M-my parents are _d-dead_."

I thought of a million different reasons for her sadness, but not one of those reasons was that.

"_What_?" I felt so sorry for her—Katie loved her parents so much. "How? _When_?"

She took a very shaky deep breath, and I knew that she was trying to calm herself down. "I just got the owl tonight." Her voice was low, but not shaking any longer. Thank Merlin for that. "It didn't say much—just that there was an attack, and they didn't survive."

I tightened my hold on her, and rested my chin atop her head. "I am _so sorry, _love. I don't even—"

She laughed sadly—bitterly. "It's alright, Fred. I know you don't know what to say. Hell, _I _don't know what to say."

I shook my head, and lowered my face next to her ear. "I wish that I could take away the hurt for you. This isn't fair."

Another bitter laugh. "Hasn't anyone _told you_?" She half teased. "Life isn't fair. Things happen, and you move on. I don't know what I'm going to _do,_ Fred. I'm scared."

And I was scared, too. Scared for her.

"Everything will turn out for the best, Kate."

She turned her head to look at me, a lone tear running down her cheek. "I have no one, Fred. I have no where to go. My family is _dead_."

I took a shaky breath, and cupped her face again, making her look at me. "You have _me, _Katie. And George, and Alicia, and Angelina, and Leanne, and my whole family. _We care about you_, and don't you ever forget that. You will always have me—always."

She nodded, and tears filled her eyes, but she did not let them fall. "But where will I go? I have no home. I can't stay at Hogwarts over the summer."

I thought about this for a moment, and knew that it was the best option—the only option I could think of. "You'll stay with me. And George, and the rest of my family at my house this summer."

"No, Fred, I couldn't—"

"—yes, yes you _could_. And you _will_."

All Katie did was nod, and I pulled her in for another hug.

She didn't cry, and for that I was grateful.

…_.The next morning..._

Neither of us spoke about last night, and we had hurried up to our respective dorms after realizing we had both fallen asleep downstairs last night. I had snuck up the stairs, careful not to wake anyone up this morning.

My hope for that flew out the window when I found George leaning against my bed, arms folded.

"Sleep well last night, brother?" He was smirking, and I knew what he must be thinking, because it's the same thing I would be thinking if I were him.

I shrugged past him and began throwing on some fresh clothes. "Yes, actually. How did _you_ sleep, Georgie?"

He rolled his eyes at me, and I couldn't help but laugh. "Cut the crap, Fred. What happened with you and Katie? You two kiss and make up already? You finally shag her?"

My face felt hot, and I knew that I must be red in the face after hearing this. Last night replayed in my head, and I knew that I needed to fill George in.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about last night." And so I proceeded to fill him in, and he sat there, completely silent, not saying or doing anything.

By the time I had finished, all my brother could do was blink. "So her parents are..."

I nodded, not looking at him. I knew that Katie should probably be the one to tell people about her parents' death, but I felt obligated to tell my brother. After all, she _would _be staying with my family this summer.

George rubbed the back of his neck, looking at a loss for words. "That's rough. I don't know what I'd do if we'd lose mom and dad. I don't know what I'd do if I lost _you_."

I nodded, and smiled soberly at him. "Same here."

Standing there in silence had sobered us up for a moment, and then we were back to our usual selves.

"So," George began. "you still haven't told her? I mean, about how you feel?"

I began stuffing things back in my trunk, trying to clean up the room before the summer. The train would be here to pick us up the day after tomorrow.

"No. Last night wasn't exactly the right time." I looked at him, and he nodded. "You tell Ange yet?"

George's ears went red, and he glanced away. "No." He spat.

I laughed, and he scowled at me. "Better make a move before she finds someone, mate."

George scrunched his face at me, which made me laugh harder. "I could tell you the same thing, Fred."

I rolled my eyes. "I know, I _know_."

George tossed me a few items we had been testing out this year at me. I caught them easily, and plopped them down inside the trunk.

"So," He began easily. "when are you gonna tell mom and dad about our house guest?"

I bit my lip. Crap, I had completely forgotten. I knew that my parents wouldn't mind in the least that Katie would be living with us this summer. Sure we weren't the richest people out there, but that wasn't the point. If someone was in need, my mother was the first person to extend a welcoming hand—especially to someone like Katie. She would take her in like a second daughter.

Or a daughter-in-law, I thought wistfully. But I shook my head of that thought, not wanting to get ahead of myself.

I would take things one step at a time from here on out.

This summer was going to be great, I just knew it.

**Author's Note: This is by far the longest chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it! This chapter is dedicated to Fifth Maurader, because her reviews have made me want to continue with this story, and they make me smile. Thanks for reading, and _please, _review! There's going to be two chapters for the summer, and then about four more after that, with a possibility of an epilogue. I'm shooting for twenty chapters with this, so PLEASE tell me what you think, and PLEASE REVIEW!**


	15. Chapter 15

"And you're absolutely sure about this, right? You know that you could always come stay with me if Fred and George get too annoying."

I smiled brightly and hugged Angelina tightly. "That's okay, Ange. I think this could be good for me. The boys always know how to take my mind off of things."

Angelina and I pulled away from one another, and she looked me up and down once before smiling. "I'm going to miss you, Kat. I'm only an Owl away if you need me, you hear me? I'll see you in September."

We laughed, and hugged once more. The two of us had already said our goodbyes to Leanne and Alicia a while ago. "I hear ya, Ange. And don't worry about me," Our heads snapped over to a loud crashing noise followed by two red heads laughing hysterically. I rolled my eyes, and Angelina and I laughed. "I'll have the two witless wonders with me this summer."

This made Angelina laugh, and I noticed that she kept her eyes on George.

I smirked and raised a brow at her suggestively. I swear I saw her blush, but she just waved her hand at me dismissively. "Ah, does little Miss Johnson have a little crush on said Weasley?" I nodded my head towards George. Angelina's eyes flicked over to the boys who were being scolded for their spilled trunks by an elderly woman. She looked back at me, a small smile on her face.

"Don't be silly, Kat." Angelina leaned in to whisper to me. "You _will _Owl me once a week, right?" I nodded, taking the hint. She wanted to know about George! Brilliant.

Angelina beamed at me and pulled me in once more for a tight hug. I hugged back just as tightly. I would miss her. After all, she _was _one of my best friends. I wouldn't see her for almost three full months! I would be stuck with Fred and George. Fun.

"Angelina! C'mon, honey, we need to _go_!" Angelina's head whipped towards the sound of her mother calling after her, and she waved back. She picked up her trunk, shot a glance towards the twins once more, and turned to me, a smile on her face.

"And _don't_ forget to fill me in about the other one as well, Kate." Angelina flicked her eyes towards Fred and George. I blushed, and cocked my head to the side. She thought I liked Fred? What was all of that about?

"Ange, what do you—" But it was too late. Angelina was bounding off towards her mother, and she waved back at me. I could have sworn I saw her wink back at me, but figured it was just a trick of the light. Oh well.

Looking around for Fred and George, I was disappointed to not find them anywhere.

I began to worry. They wouldn't leave without me—would they? I mean, what if I had been to busy to not hear them calling after me, saying that they would be leaving? _Would they leave me here alone_?

No. They wouldn't. They were my friends, and I was overreacting.

I looked around, trying to appear calm, looking around for any person with red hair around. I searched around for a Weasley, but came up with nothing. With a sigh, I turned around to pick up my trunk, but it wasn't there.

"What the—"

"—C'mon, Katesy, let's get a move on!"

"—Yes, wouldn't want to leave you behind, now would we?"

I grinned, seeing Fred and George, each holding up a side of my trunk. I sighed, and shook my head, happy that they didn't leave me behind. I nodded my head, and they began to walk away with my trunk. I hurried along beside Fred. He grinned down at me, and gave a small wink. Smiling brightly up at him, we began to make our way over to his family, back to the Burrow.

…_.At the Burrow..._

To say that the Weasley home was bustling would be an understatement. People were _everywhere, _and there was never a dull moment. George and Fred carried my trunk up to the porch, and ran back to the car to grab their own things. I took a step towards the home, and took a deep breath. I was determined to make this summer good, and I would not be a burden to any of the Weasleys this summer. They were kind enough to take me in as it is.

Just then, Ron went running up to the house, almost knocking me over. He called out an apology once he reached the door, and I grinned up at him, waving it off. Ginny came up on one side of me, trunk in hand.

She looked up at me, and gave a small smile. I smiled down warmly at her. "Glad you're staying with us." I nodded, and she gave a wide smile. "At least there's another girl, besides me and mum."

"Thanks, Ginny." I had never been extremely close with the youngest Weasley, but I wanted that to change this summer. Ginny seemed like a pretty cool person, and I knew how she must feel growing up with six brothers. Fred and George being two of them must _really _get irritating.

All Ginny did was nod, and she began to drag her trunk up into the house, waving back at me once before disappearing all together in the Burrow.

I looked up at the Burrow, taking another deep breath. I was _home_. It simply felt right here, and I couldn't quite think of any other way to put it. This house was so full of love and happiness that I knew I wouldn't want to be anywhere else this summer.

Breaking me out of my reverie, the twins came up along either side of me, huffing and puffing. "So, you hungry for some lunch?" George _would _be the one to ask about food. That boy was always hungry.

"Yeah, sure! Race you to the door?" But before I could even finish with my question, the boys had run off ahead of me, almost to the porch. Damn them!

"No fair! That's _cheating, _you two!" I pushed my legs to go faster, and in an instant I had caught up to them. I flung myself on the nearest twin, determined to stop at least _one _of them from winning.

"_Got you_!" And I was airborne for a split second, landing on the back of one of the boys. He let out a surprised yelp, and came crashing down onto the grass with me on top of him. Rolling over, I was met with the face of Fred only inches from my own.

"Cheater." I breathed. I tried to roll of of him, but decided against it. My ribs were killing me—I must have knocked the wind out when I jumped Fred.

All he did was bark a laugh and grin at me. I huffed, trying to get some air back in my lungs. Scrunching my face up at him was the best I could do to show that I was upset he was laughing at me.

Naturally, this made him laugh harder, and me angrier. I rolled my eyes and off of Fred, onto the cool grass. My head look up when I saw a pair of old sneakers next to my face.

"Hello, George!" I chirped. In reply, he chuckled and shook his head. Next to me, Fred got up and rubbed the back of his head. They each extended a hand, and I jumped up.

"Thank you both, you good for nothing cheaters." The cheeky smile on my face showed that I was only joking, and the twins each grinned back at me.

Together the three of us hauled our trunks into the crowded space of the Burrow. I was instantly bombarded by Mrs. Weasley, after I took about three steps into the house.

"Katie, darling! Oh it's so good to see you!" Mrs. Weasley enveloped me in a huge bear hug, and I found myself hardly able to breathe.

"M-Mrs. Weasley! How _good _to s-see you, too!" I was struggling to form a clear sentence and breathe right, but I was grateful for the hug nonetheless.

"C'mon, mum, you're crushing her!"

Mrs. Weasley pulled away from the hug and smiled brightly at me. Ah, thank you Ron!

"Anyway, dear, I'm terribly sorry about your parents." My throat tightened, but I put a smile on, and nodded my head at Mrs. Weasley. "They were very, very good people, they were. It's a shame, really."

I bit my lip, and willed the tears to stay away. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. For everything—you know, letting me stay here and all. I don't want to impose."

Mrs. Weasley smiled and waved her hand dismissively. I saw Ginny talking with Fred and George, and Ron grab something off of the counter and take a bite out of it. "Nonsense, dear, you'll be no trouble at all. Maybe you'll be able to keep the boys out of trouble this summer." A wink my way, and Mrs. Weasley grabbed the pear out of Ron's hands as he walked by. "Not before lunch, Ronald. Now, as I was saying, Katie dear, you'll be no trouble at all. Fred, George!" I looked over to the twins who immediately perked up at their names being called.

"Yes, mum?"

"How may we be of service to you at this fine hour?"

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes and pointed to my trunk. "Grab this for Katie and find a spot for it in Ginny's room, would you boys?" Fred and George saluted their mother, and each took an end of the trunk, hauling it towards what I assumed to be Ginny's bedroom.

I smiled at Mrs. Weasley. "I could have grabbed that, Mrs. Weasley. I really didn't need them to—"

Silencing me with her hand, Mrs. Weasley gave a warm smile. "Nonsense, dear. Now off with you until lunch!" The twins appeared, each talking and gesturing animatedly about something. "Now, just do me one favor."

"Anything."

Mrs. Weasley lowered her voice and leaned in. "Watch out for Fred, would you Katie? He's been acting a bit off for quite a while now, and I can't seem to figure out why."

My face suddenly felt hotter, and I couldn't place why. Fred _had _been acting a bit off as of late, but I didn't think it had become such a problem that his mother would be talking to me about it. "Sure, Mrs. Weasley. And if I find out anything, you'll be the first to know."

"Ah! Bless you, dear. Now run off with the boys, and go have some fun!"

In an instant Fred and George were on either side of me, grabbing an arm and dragging me out of the back door.

"C'mon, Katesy, let's go get some fresh air." George's breath on my face tickled, and I laughed. This just made Fred make a face at George, and George bust out laughing. Glad to know I was so amusing.

Once outside, the boys released me from their hold and we began to walk lazily around in the fields behind their house. The sun beat down on our skin, and I took in a deep breath, trying to capture the moment. Right now, just _right now _was three best friends simply enjoying one anothers company—simply _being_. I was perfectly content just walking along the dirt paths behind the Burrow with my boys—something I never thought could happen after I found out about my parents' death. I was truly grateful for friends like Fred and George, and I knew that I could never find another friend quite like either of them, even if I tried.

I looked over at George, and felt myself smiling inwardly. No matter what happened, George had always been looking out for me. He gave the best advice anyone could ever ask for, and for that I was truly grateful. Unlike his brother, he knew when to keep his mouth shut and when to ask questions. If I was in need of some help on anything, George was right there, ready to step in when I needed him. He was more shy than his brother, but still bold, daring, and one of the most outspoken people I'd ever known. By no means was he quiet, but compared to his twin, he was noticeably the quieter and more thoughtful of the two.

Looking up at Fred, the other half to the infamous Weasley duo, I felt myself feel warmed from the inside out. This past year Fred had proven to be quite possibly my most loyal friend. He was there for me through thick and thin—even when I didn't think I wanted him to be. Time and time again when I found myself in need or hurt, Fred was there. He was like my shadow, and that made me smile. Fred had the tendency to act often before he thought, and this showed greatly this past year. He showed to be by my side no matter what, and always stuck up for me—even if I was at fault. I knew that I was truly blessed to have the boys in my life.

The three of us walked in silence for a while before Fred spoke up.

"So, Kates, what d'ya thinkin' about?"

Hands in pockets, I kicked a small stone laying on the dirt path and shrugged. "You," I replied casually, and realized how that must have sounded. I sounded like a bloody little girl trying to flirt with her crush, I noted. "and George, too." There, no need for the boys to think that I _fancy _one of them, now do I?

I peeked up at Fred, and he smiled widely down at me. I returned the gesture and leaned in to him, the three of us still walking about.

"What are you two thinking about?"

George was the first to speak. "Not much. Just wondering how long it'll take Ron to figure out that Fred and I planted a fake spider sack up in his room." George was grinning from ear to ear, and Fred shook his head, laughing lightly.

"Yeah, mum'll probably chew our heads off for that one later."

The twins looked at one another in that moment, and both grinned. "Still worth it." They spoke together.

I sighed, and felt a smile crawl onto my face. "So, Fred, what've you been thinking about in that head of yours?" For good measure, I knocked lightly on his head, and pretended to be surprised that I didn't hear anything rattle around.

George laughed, and Fred rolled his eyes. "Well, my dear, I _only _think about _you_." He gave me a wink, and this made me feel all giddy on the inside. Stop it, Katie! Do _not _think about him like that! Do _not_. "You consume my every thought, Kates, don'tcha know that by now?" I laughed, but still felt weird hearing his words. I pushed it away though, and decided not to dwell on it.

By now, we were within seeing distance of the house, and we saw Mrs. Weasley on the back porch.

"Fred, George, Katie! Hurry along now, lunch is ready!" Just then, my stomach growled, and I raced the boys up to the Burrow for lunch.

…_.Two months later, late at night..._

"You sure you're okay with sharing your room, Ginny? I could always go out on the couch, or something." Ginny's room had become my new living quarters for the summer, due to the lack of bedrooms and that she was the only girl in the house. I had gotten significantly closer with the youngest Weasley over the past two months, as well as the rest of the Weasleys over my stay.

Mrs. Weasley and I would bake together once in a while, and I would help her tidy up, chatting about this and that here and there.

Whenever Mr. Weasley wasn't working, he and I would both be up having tea in the morning, discussing the wonderful world of Muggles. He was a truly brilliant man, and a kind wizard. He reminded me so much of my own father, Merlin rest his soul.

I never saw much of Charlie or Bill, and I think I might have seen them both once or twice as they popped in for some breakfast one morning. They both seemed pleasant enough, and Charlie was a rather eccentric character. Bill's hair was almost as long as mine!

Ron—oh, Ron—the two of us spent our time freaking out over a spider that was in the kitchen a few weeks back. Turns out that Fred and George were trying to scare Ron senseless, but didn't take into account that I'm just as scared of spiders. After our near heart attack, Ron and I spent the next few weeks discussing Quidditch and odd things here and there. Unfortunately, he's a Chudley Cannons fan. Bugger.

Ginny and I spent our time like a couple of teenage girls—painting nails, talking about Quidditch, discussing spells, and doing one anothers hair. She was a pleasant girl, and quickly becoming a close friend. I was grateful to share a room with her, and enjoyed spending time with the youngest Weasley. She was almost as funny as the twins, at times.

One night I had spent talking to George about Angelina the whole night. He denied everything in the morning, but I just _know _that he loves her. I've been writing to Angelina about this, but left out the part where I talked to him all night. I'd leave that for them to talk about in the fall with one another.

Fred and I had become even closer this summer than we already were. We went out to the pond a mile behind his house from time to time—just the two of us—and _talked_. He was extremely fun to be with, and could surprisingly be _serious_ when called for. We talked about everything under the stars, and then some. Occasionally we would fall asleep on top of one another, or he'd have to carry me back to the house because we were so tired. I've even been guilty of holding his hand a few times. It's nothing though, and I know that he only sees me as a friend. I just know that we're both such good friends that we're comfortable with doing these kind of things with each other.

Even though I had become closer with the Weasley family, I still did my best to prove that I was not a burden to any of them. I did extra chores, and tried numerous times to move out onto the couch, just so that Ginny could have her room back to normal again.

The redheaded girl sighed theatrically while brushing her hair. "Katie, _honestly, _it's no trouble at all! I'm just glad to have another girl, is all. It'll be great—like having a sister or something." I felt warmed by Ginny's words, and smiled up at her from my spot on the floor.

Nodding my head, I grabbed a pillow and absentmindedly traced the pattern on the cover. "Thanks, Ginny. That—means a lot to me."

The younger girl turned around and smiled brightly at me. "Not a problem." And she made her way over lazily to her bed and plopped herself down onto it. "So," She said after a moment's worth of awkward silence. "what's it like, being friends with my brothers?"

I laughed lightly at her question, truly amused by it. "Well, for starters, there's never a dull moment." This made her laugh, and I noticed that she sounded a lot like her brothers in that sense. "And, honestly, I don't really know—there's just something about them—and I can't help but _not _be their friend, you know?"

Ginny snorted, but gave me what appeared to be a genuine smile. "Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. You're good for them, though. They're almost _bearable _around you." This made Ginny and I erupt into laughter, and my mind couldn't help but wonder what she meant by that. I was _good _for them?

"And what about _you, _miss 'I hang out with Mr. Harry Potter'?" At this, Ginny's face flushed, and I smiled brightly. Ah, so _someone _had a little crush on Harry, did they? "What's this? Ginny, do you _fancy _Harry?"

Ginny's eyes bulged, and she tossed a pillow at my head. I caught it quickly, thanks to years of being a Chaser, and smiled wickedly at the freckled girl. "W—what would make you say something like _that_?"

I rolled my eyes, and lobbed the pillow back at her. "As if it isn't _obvious_, Ginny. Not to me, at least." I didn't want the poor girl to think that it was bloody obvious she fancied Harry, after all. Nothing could be more mortifying than _that_.

Ginny visibly relaxed a touch, but still seemed flustered by my accusation. "Well, now, how about _you_?" I instantly perked up at this, and looked at her curiously. Me?"

"What about me?"

Ginny smiled devilishly, and leaned back into the pillows on her bed. "Don't pretend, Katie. You and _Fred_?"

If I were looking at myself in the mirror right now I would probably see my eyes as big as saucers and my face redder than the Weasley's hair. Where would Ginny get an idea like _that_?

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Honestly, this girl _must _have an overactive imagination or something.

Fred and I—dating?

No. No, no, no, no, _no._

But my mind couldn't help but think of what it _would _be like to date Fred. Christmases at the Burrow, teasing George constantly, someone to make me laugh...

_No._ Bad idea, Katie. He's your _best friend!_

And even if we _were _to date, it would just end badly, and I was not prepared to lose my best friend like that.

Relationships were out of the question.

Ginny looked at me suspiciously, and sat up slightly in her bed. "S-so you _don't_—"

I shook my head, and absentmindedly twirled a piece of hair between my fingers. "Nope, sorry to disappoint."

I heard the younger girl sigh, and I almost felt like taking it back. _Almost_.

"But—now, don't take this the wrong way—I just thought that... You know, since you two spend so much time together, I just figured something was going on."

I fidgeted slightly on the cot in Ginny's room, and couldn't quite make myself look at her for a while. "Oh, well... No. Nothing's going on between us." I let out a nervous laugh. "At least, not that I know of." Good, try to ease the awkwardness away.

I finally looked up at Ginny, and she gave me a half smile. "Oh. Well, if it's not overstepping any weirdness, I think you two would be smashing together." And she flashed a bright smile to prove her point.

My stomach felt weird again, and I did my best at smiling. I lay back down on the makeshift bed, and lay my head in my hands. "Not weird in the slightest." I flashed Ginny an identical smile back. "And if you don't mind _my _saying, I think you and Harry would be a brilliant pair. Honestly, I do." I glanced at Ginny, and she had a huge smile on her face, looking up at the ceiling.

After a while of sitting in silence, Ginny spoke. "You really think so?"

I rolled over to look at the girl in the dim room. "Absolutely." And there wasn't a doubt in my mind when I said that.

Ginny pulled the covers up and looked at me. "And I really wasn't trying to be all weird when I said what I did earlier. I just think that..."

I quirked an eyebrow at her. "At what, Ginny?" People need to stop _doing that_!

She seemed to contemplate something for a short while, and finally decided to speak up. "I just think that Fred might fancy you, is all." She spoke softly and in a rush, but I heard every word of it.

Fred Weasley fancied me?

**Author's Note: Okay, so I _know _that this was a long kinda filler chapter, but next up is Fred's, another long one, because it stretches all the way until Christmas! Please review, and tell me what you think! Only about five more chapters left for this story! Let me know how it's going, and what you'd like to see more of, and how Katie's going to react to this news!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: Well, everyone, I know that this chapter has been overdue for quite a few months. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm terribly sorry that I did that, and I will be finishing this story before I go into my junior year at the end of August. This chapter will get an insight into why Katie hasn't been grieving over her parents' deaths, how she reacts to the news of Fred fancying her, and a hopefully good twist to it all. Please have patience with me, and please, don't hate me for how I'm going to make Katie act this chapter. In April one of my long time friend's father had committed suicide, and this chapter is dedicated to her, and the loss that really hit close to my heart. (This is why I've left this story for a while, Katie Bell's situation was too closely related to what was happening in my life right now). I'm going to have Katie react to the death of her parent's similarly to how my friend has been dealing with her father's sudden death, so please, bear with me. Anyways, end my rant, but onto this story! PS: Alternating POV's in this one as well. (:**

The next morning I found myself being the first awake in the Weasley home. The sun was not yet out yet, and I took a quick shower before heading downstairs to see what I could do to occupy myself with. I passed Ginny's room, poked my head in, and found she was still asleep. The small red haired girl was lying on her stomach, one arm swung over the side of her bed, and she was muttering something that sounded strikingly similar to _Harry Potter_. I laughed softly and shut the door quietly behind me, tiptoeing down the remainder of the hall.

In a moment I found myself in the cozy kitchen of the Burrow. There were flowers in a vase from yesterday on the table and I filled it a little more with water, just in case the flowers needed it. As I leaned in, pouring the water, my nose was met with the smell of Gardenias. I pulled back quickly, almost as if I smelled something foul, and felt my throat tighten.

_My mother loved Gardenias, _I thought sadly. I continued to stare at the flowers for a while longer, feeling as if I couldn't muster up the strength to tear them away. A memory seemed to take me over swiftly as I stared at the flowers, trying to block it out. It hurt to remember.

"_Mum!" A younger version of myself was running through the muddy backyard of my old home towards my mother. She was kneeling in the garden, tending it, and snipping a few flowers into bunches to be brought in later. _

"_Mum," I gasped, finally reaching her. My mother looked over at me, and smiled warmly. _

"_Katie, honey, you've gotten your pretty dress all dirtied up now. What's the matter?"_

_The younger me was still huffing for breath, trying to recover from sprinting to her mother. "I_—_wanted to... To ask you_—_something." My breathing had me butchering sentences together, still trying to steady myself._

All my mother could do was laugh, and wipe a little mud from my face. "Well then out with it, honey. What's bothering you?"

_Taking one final deep breath, I spoke. "Why do people cry, momma?"_

_This question took my mother completely off guard_—_clearly she had not been expecting a question like that. "Darling, what do you mean by that?"_

_Annoyed that I had to explain myself, I shifted my weight from one foot to another as I spoke. "Well, I was out playing in town, and I saw all of these people dressing in black and crying over a big box. Why's that? It's not like they could lose something that big."_

_My mother's eyes twinkled, and she pulled me to sit on her lap. "Well dear, as a matter of fact, those people _did _lose something that big."_

_My eyes grew wide, and I looked up confusedly at my mother. "But how? And why cry over it?"_

_Sighing, mother took a breath before explaining to me what a funeral was, and that that was a person in the box. I stayed silent throughout her explanation, taking it all in. I understood that the people were sad, but I still had trouble deciphering one thing. _

"_Mum?"_

"_Yes, Katie?"_

"_I still don't get why they were crying like that. They'll still see that person one day, won't they? I mean, sure, they're sad, but I wouldn't cry if someone died. It's silly_—_waste of time, really."_

_My mother gave a hearty laugh, and placed a gardenia in my hair. "You have a different way of thinking things through, Katie Bell."_

_I smiled, "Is that a bad thing?"_

"_Not at all." My mother shook her head and hugged me close. "As a matter of fact, you're absolutely right. Crying is silly, isn't it?"_

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Why had I thought of that, here and now? For the past two months I had done a good job of blocking all memories of my parents out. For two months I had stopped the hurting, and for two months I had found happiness when there should be none. It wasn't right, I felt like I was disrespecting my parents' memories by not grieving over them.

A voice in the back of my head told me otherwise though. Don't think like that, it's silly. You have every right to be happy, Katie Bell.

But what if I was wrong? What if it wasn't normal for me to not be as upset as I should by losing both parents the way I did?

Shaking my head of the thoughts that bounced around in my head, I slipped out the back door from the kitchen into the backyard. The sun still hadn't come up yet, but I could tell that the sunrise would be coming shortly. Deciding that I would rather go out to the small swimming pond out a ways to watch the sunrise, I set out at a comfortable jog. I heard birds beginning to wake up in the trees, and owls hooting softly, ready for bed. I looked up at the sky and saw my barn owl head towards the Burrow, and try to find an open window. Smiling, I picked up my pace a little and soon found myself in front of the pond that I had spent so much time in this summer.

"_Bloody hell, Fred! Why'd you dunk me?" Ron came up, spluttering, and coughed up a bit of water. He had a grin on his face, but was trying desperately to hide it. _

_Fred swan lazily over to the wooden raft in the middle of the pond, ignoring Ron, and rested his forearms on it. I rolled over on my stomach to face Fred. "Fred," I spoke disapprovingly to him, as if I were telling off a small child. My face was close to his, and I jabbed him in the nose for good measure. "that wasn't very nice of you to do that to Ron." Another jab on the freckled nose of Fred, and he made a face. "Now apologize." _

_Fred heaved a great sigh, clearly annoyed that I was making him apologize to his younger brother, put turned around anyways. _

"_Sorry you're such a great big prat and can't take a joke, Ronnie-kins." _

"_Fred Weasley, that is not what I meant!" Fred grinned and was turning to me, but was cut off from speaking as he too was dunked under by Ginny and George. _

_Moments later, Fred too came spluttering up and we were all in hysterics. My eyes were filled with tears I had been laughing so hard, and the rest of the Weasleys (minus Fred) were howling with laughter at how Fred looked. His hair hung over his eyes, and he was trying not to choke on the water that had gotten into his lungs, all the while trying to curse out whoever had sent him underwater. _

"_You_—_effing_—_get it_—_so help me!" And he splashed water back at George, who was too busy laughing to get out of the way of the oncoming water, and soon, Fred, George, and Ron were wrestling in the water while Ginny swam over to the raft I was sunbathing on. _

"_Boys," She muttered under her breath. I giggled, and looked away from the tangled mess that was the Weasley boys, water flying everywhere, and turned to Ginny. _

"_I know, they're completely hopeless." Ginny laughed at this, and we continued to joke about the three boys until they had worn themselves out and stopped wrestling. _

_Ron was the first to pull himself from the pond, and grabbed a towel that was hung on a nearby tree branch. Ginny had said something about going to grab some lunch, so she too got up and went back to the Burrow with Ron. That left Fred and George in the water with me on the wooden raft._

_After a while of teasing and talking, George swan lazily by. The sun was getting lower in the sky now, and it would be setting in a while. He was the first to speak up. "Well," He began, floating on his back. "I don't know about you two, but I'm beat. I'm heading back." So, George swam over to the edge of the pond and climbed out slowly, and fetched a towel. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him rub something that looked just like poison ivy onto Fred's towel, wink, and leave. I suppressed a smile at that, and winked back as conspicuously as I could. He seemed to get the message, and waved back at the two of us, saying his goodbyes. Fred turned around and gave a farewell wave to his twin, and swam over towards me. _

"_So, Katesy," Fred spoke lazily, and propped himself on to ledge of the raft. "what d'ya wanna do?"_

_Propping myself up on elbows, I looked down at Fred for a moment, deliberating. "Well, we could go back to the Burrow." Fred shrugged his shoulders. "Or we could poke around the forest for a bit, but seeing as we're both in nothing but our bathing suits, I'd rather not." I sat my head down on my folded arms in front of me, still sprawled on my stomach facing Fred. He laughed, and made a face at my latest suggestion. _

"_Yes, I'd rather not get bitten up by the bugs and get poison ivy, thank you very much." He gave a goofy grin, and I grinned back down at him. _

"_Well then what do _you _have in mind then, hmm?" _

_Fred looked up at the darkening sky up ahead, and back to me. "Well, we could lay out here and watch the sunset, if you like."_

_A smile broke out across my face. "Yeah, I'd love that, actually."_

_Fred's all too familiar grin broke across his face, and he hoisted his dripping wet self up onto the wooden raft I was occupying next to me. I teased him for being so wet, and he gave some sexual joke back, saying that I liked seeing his chiseled body wet. I shoved him, and we both lay back on our backs, waiting for the sunset to come. _

_We sat in a comfortable silence, breaking it from time to time with mindless chit chat here and there. The two of us would scoot around, trying to get comfortable, and somehow our hands had ended up entwined. Neither of us made any move to remove our hand, so we left them their. _

_I had peeked over at Fred, and I could swear that I saw him blushing, still looking up at the sunset. I smiled, feeling completely comfortable and completely happy right where I was on the wooden raft, holding Fred Weasley's hand._

I smiled to myself, remembering the events of a few weeks ago. I could see where Ginny had come from now, assuming that Fred and I were together. Not all typical best friends held hands and did those sorts of things together like Fred and I did. I still couldn't shake my mind of her insinuating that Fred fancied me, or the lingering memories of my parents though. I sighed, and looked up at the sun, which was just barely peaking above the trees now, and I sat down in the cool, dew covered grass.

"Fancy meeting you out here, Kates." I jumped, completely taken off guard by the voice from behind. Turning, I was met with George, who stood a few feet behind me, leaning up against a tree.

"George, bloody hell, never do that again!"

George's hearty laughed filled the air, and he took a few steps forward, sitting down beside me on the grass. "I couldn't help it, Kates, you're just too easy of a target sometimes."

He grinned, and I gave him a light shove. "I am not, you're just a prat."

"Am not!"

I laughed, and leaned back in the grass. "Are too. Now shut up and tell me why you followed me out here this morning." I smiled widely and looked over at him. "You're not stalking me, are you Georgie?" I teased, and he rolled his eyes. Following suit, he too leaned back in the grass.

"Damn, you've found me out, Bell. Now I'm going to have to go home and burn that shrine of you I have hidden away in my closet. I'm not going to lie, I've become quite attached to it actually..." And neither of us could help from laughing, and teasing further, and finally drifting off into a silence for a while.

I was the first one to break the silence, never taking my eyes from the slow sunrise. "George?"

"Yeah, Katie?"

"Are you really going to tell me why you came out here?"

There was a moment's hesitation, and I could hear George let out a sigh. "I actually wanted to talk to you, Kates."

Confused, I turned to him. "What about?"

George shifted uncomfortably next to me, and finally looked at me. "Well, a few things actually..."

I gave a short laugh upon hearing this. "Alright then, shoot. You know you can talk to me about anything, George."

"Well," He was hesitant for a moment, but the question spilled out quickly then and caught me completely off guard. "have you told Fred about that Slytherin guy yet?"

I made a face after my mind had caught up with the question. "No," I sounded a tad harsh, but I didn't mean to. "and I don't plan to, either. Why?"

"Surely he has a right to know, doesn't he?"

Why would Fred have a right to know who I almost sleep with, even if it _was _a Slytherin? "George, I'll ask you again: _Why_?"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, George spoke. "Never mind then."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Alright." We sat in silence for a few seconds. The sun had completely come up now.

George completely threw me off guard with his next question as well. "You miss them, don't you Katie?"

"Pardon?" George couldn't be referring to my parents... Could he?

"...Your parents, Katie. You miss them, I can tell."

Going pink at his statement, Katie cleared her throat a little before speaking. "George, I—" But I never could finish, for my throat felt a little tight just thinking about them right now... Talking about them with George.

"I know you do, Katie. Fred and I see it sometimes. It's just little things, like when mum would put honey in our tea, or when it rains outside."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, and nodded my head.

"It's okay to cry, Katie. It's okay to miss them. After all, they were your parents."

And I turned to George, a bit startled by his somewhat endearing statement, but also a bit warmed by it. "I know, George."

He looked at me for a moment before speaking. "So then why do we never see you cry? You just seem so... happy. How do you do it?"

I took a deep sigh, and smiled a bit. "Honestly, I don't know. Crying's silly, and I guess I just don't want to spend my time being sad. I'd rather be happy than dwell on the sad, and I know that that's what they would have wanted for me."

"I... I see." George seemed hesitant to speak again. "Katie?"

"Yeah, George?"

Another deep sigh was heard from him. "Why didn't you go to their funeral?"

It was my turn to sigh, and I pulled my knees up to my chin, resting it there. "Because I couldn't. I wouldn't last, George. It's hard enough knowing that they're not here anymore, but actually going and seeing them..."

He nodded understandably and slung his arm loosely around my shoulders comfortingly. We sat in silence for a great while, neither of us knowing how to steer the conversation away from the depressing turn it had taken.

I was the first to speak, though. "George, that couldn't be the only thing you wanted to talk to me about."

George's ears turned a light shade of pink, and he began twiddling blades of grass between his fingers absentmindedly.

"Actually, yeah, you're right... There was something else..."

I turned to face George completely now, giving him my full attention. "Well then out with it!" I smiled, trying to ease him into whatever it was he needed me for.

George muttered something unintelligent, and blushed.

"Sorry, what was that?"

He looked anywhere but me when he spoke. "Angelina."

Letting out an uncharacteristic squeal, I bounced up and down excitedly. "George, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Again, George had shifted uncomfortably, and again he refused to look at my directly. "I dunno, maybe I am..."

Another excited squeal, and I hugged George tightly. "George, this is _fantastic_! I knew it all along! Oh, you _have to _ask her out! It'll be perfect, and—"

George laughed, and cut me off. "Kates, takes it easy, will ya?" He flashed a grin at me, and I settled down a bit, nodding my head. "I just wanted to er... Ask you a few things about Ange is all."

Katie smiled devilishly, and sat back, legs crossed. "He favorite color is green. And not a light green—it's more of a forest green." George nodded his head, taking in this new information seriously. "She likes feeling in charge, but not in a relationship, got that?" Again, George nodded his head, listening intently. "She's a cat person, hates the color turquoise, wants to play professional Quidditch, always wanted a little sister, and she _fancies you_."

That last bit of information completely caught George off guard, and a moment later, a dopey grin found its way on his face. "Yeah?"

I grinned, and nodded happily. "Yeah, George. Has for quite a while, I reckon."

"You're not just pulling my leg here, are you?" George looked so happy, and so hopeful. "Because if you are—"

I smiled wickedly. "—What would you do, George?" He shrugged and cracked another grin. I spoke though, smiling happily, and standing up now. "And I'm not pulling your leg, George. Ange really does like you, a lot."

…..._Just a while later, at the Burrow..._

Deciding that I haven't owled Angelina in ages, I grabbed some ink, parchment, and a quill, and headed for the living room. Fred and Ginny were playing exploding snap on the floor while George and Ron were debating Quidditch teams across the room. I plopped myself onto the couch and threw my things onto the coffee table, taking out my quill.

_Ange,_

_Terribly sorry that this letter is overdue, but I've been really busy lately. I miss you terribly, _

"Lunch, everyone! Hurry now, before it gets cold!" And Ron and George raced to the kitchen, each determined to beat the other to the table. Ginny hopped up and tossed her cards down on the carpet. She muttered something nasty to Fred about cheating at their game, and went to go grab some food. Fred was putting the cards away and I decided to scrawl a bit more onto the parchment before tying it to my owl.

—_but Mrs. Weasley is calling us for lunch now, and I'd better get going. I've got loads to tell you, so expect another owl from me later. _

_Lots of love,_

_K. Bell_

I rolled up my parchment and ambled over to the open window where my barn owl awaited me. Tying it to his leg, I watched him soar away quickly.

Fred was suddenly behind me, and I jumped as I turned around. My nose bumped his chest, and I craned my neck up to look at his ridiculously freckled face. He was extremely close to me, and this made my stomach do weird flips.

Cracking a grin, Fred let out a low laugh. "Alright there, Kates? Didn't scare you, did I?"

Completely flustered by how close we were standing, I cracked a nervous smile. "Of course not Fred, don't be silly."

Fred smiled and shrugged. Taking my hand in his, he led me over to where the rest of his family was busy eating lunch. Ginny took notice of our hands, and I felt my face heat up, recalling what she had said to me last night in her room.

Pulling out my chair for me, Fred gestured for me to sit down, and I obliged. _What is wrong with me? Why am I acting like this towards him? And why the sudden act of chivalry? This is _Fred _we're talking about. _

Fred's small act of being a gentlemen didn't go unnoticed by Ginny or George, and both gave Fred and I odd looks before turning back to their food. I couldn't help but feel like my face was on fire the whole time we were at the lunch table, nor could I ignore the fact that Fred kept stealing glances my way.

…..._After dinner, much later..._

"Check mate." Ron spoke dully, and seemed rather bored. I sighed frustratedly, and scanned the chess board over quickly.

"Damn, and I thought I did alright, too." Ron cracked a grin at me and leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head.

"You did fine, Katie. I just play a lot with Harry." He laughed a bit at that, and I smiled. "Although you're not much better than him, mind you." Scrunching my face and sticking my tongue out at him, I turned my head to the window. My owl was tapping on the glass with some purple parchment in its talon.

I waved goodbye and thanks to Ron, and he went upstairs, probably to his room, up to bed early like his parents. Ginny was at a friend's house for the night, leaving just Fred, George and I alone in the living room now. Opening the window, I tossed my owl some food and petted him on the head before he went and flew to a nearby tree. Unrolling the parchment, I found that it was from Angelina.

_Katie!_

_Seeing as I haven't received any long letters from you after your other one today, I figured I'd write you. We need a serious girl talk, and I'm thinking that we both have a lot to fill each other in on. I'll write to you tomorrow morning, mum's calling me for something or another. _

_Hugs and kisses, _

_Angelina_

Smiling down at the purple parchment, I stuffed it into my pocket and closed the window. Ambling over to the couch where the twins were sitting, I squeezed myself between the two of them, receiving annoyed grunts and groans as they had to make room for me between them.

George saw the purple sticking out of my jeans pocket, and pointed at it curiously. "Whatcha got there Kates? A _loooove _letter?"

I blushed, and poked George in the ribs. "No, stupid. It's from _Angelina, _though." I gave a wide smile, and George turned scarlet.

"Ah, i-is it now?"

I twiddled with a piece of my hair and rested my head on Fred's arm, looking to my left at George. "Mhmm."

"Well, what does she say?"

I cracked a wicked smile up at him, still twirling my hair. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

George huffed, and crossed his arms. "Actually, I _would, _thank you very much."

I took the piece of paper out as well as my wand. With a flick of my wand, the paper burned up, and the ashes were gone. George stared at me, bug eyed, and mouth open. I smiled cheekily at him, and Fred let out a hearty laugh upon seeing his brother's face.

"Well what'd you go and do _that _for?"

I shrugged, and continued fiddling with my hair. Fred had repositioned his arm around me, and I scooched in closer to him. My head was getting dizzy from being this close to him, and I could smell nothing but hot chocolate, fireworks, and something fresh. It was driving me insane, and I tried hard to focus on something George was trying to get out, but was failing miserably.

_What is wrong with me? Why can't I just be around Fred anymore and not have him drive me crazy?_

Angry and annoyed, George said something nasty underneath his breath and sulked upstairs to his and Fred's room. I thanked Godric silently in my head, happy to be alone with Fred now.

_Whoa, back up. Slow down. I do not fancy Fred Weasley. I do not want to be alone with him right now. I do not enjoy his smell, which is making me nuts right now. I do not want to kiss him._

I wanted to kiss Fred Weasley.

Oh Merlin, help me.

I stopped playing with my hair now and settled for ringing my hand together on my lap now, still leaning into Fred, his arm still hung around my shoulders. His hand was rubbing small circles into my shoulder, and I smiled. It felt nice.

_A little too nice, _I thought nastily. Why was I doing this? He was my best friend...

_A best friend that fancies you._

Stop that!

I sighed agitatedly and pulled my legs up onto the couch. Fred seemed to notice my agitation, because he spoke.

"You alright there Katesy?"

I was speaking before I could think. "No."

Fred looked at me confused. "Why's that? Something got you down, love?"

I suppressed a groan when I heard him call me that. My insides squirmed, and I looked down at my lap. I spoke again before I could even think of what was coming out of my mouth. "Because I want to kiss you right now."

Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap, damn, shit, fuck. What have I done? Why does my stupid mouth have to talk before I tell it to? What the bloody hell?

I looked up at Fred after a second through my lashes. His eyes were as wide as saucers, and his mouth was open just a little. His hand had stopped rubbing circles on my shoulder as well.

"W-what was that?"

I sighed pointedly, and swung my leg over his. Now straddling him, his eyes had grown even larger, if possible, and I could hear his breath hitch in his throat.

**Fred POV**

My mind was racing a mile a minute, and my breathing sped up. I had Katie Bell straddling me right now telling me she wanted to kiss me.

Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

Katie leaned in and brought her mouth close to my ear. I could feel her warm breath on my skin, and I suppressed a shiver that ran through me as she spoke. "You heard me, Weasley."

She pulled away slowly, but her face was still close enough to mine where I could feel her breath on me still. I searched her eyes, trying to figure out whether or not this were all some cruel joke, or if I were dreaming or not. She stared into my eyes and gave a small smirk.

Grabbing the collar of my shirt, she pulled my towards her a little so that our noses were nearly touching. My breathing was erratic, and I'm sure she could hear my heart hammering in my chest right now, but I didn't care. Everything that I had been waiting for—had been _working for _was happening right now. My dream was coming true: Katie Bell wanted me as much as I wanted her.

In that short moment I was just a teenage boy, and she was just a teenage girl. We both wanted something, and we were both going to get it. Nothing was going to get in our way, and tonight, Katie Bell would be mine.

"Then what are you waiting for?" I managed to croak out. I was nervous as hell, but I would never let her see that. In that moment I crashed my lips down onto hers, and she was fighting back just as fiercely. Her hands found her way into my hair, and she let out a soft moan that did things to me you'll never know. The kiss was everything I had every though it would be, and ten times better than that. Nothing could have prepared me for this moment, and that's what made it so much better.

She shifted in my lap, and I grunted. Laying her back onto the couch, I felt her hands on my shirt, unsnapping each button greedily. My hands ran up and down her soft skin hungrily—I had been waiting to do this for so long, longer than I knew possible.

Everything felt right, and nothing was going to stop us tonight.

…..._That Morning; Dawn..._

Shifting slightly on the floor, I pulled the blanket around me tightly. I sat up with a start, and looked around startled. All grogginess had faded away now, and I looked down startled at what appeared to be a naked Fred Weasley lying underneath the other half of the large blanket on the floor next to me.

My eyes bugged out of their sockets, and I panicked.

My mind was piecing things together one by one, recollecting things from the night before. I looked around, and various clothing items were strewn about the Weasley's living room.

Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap, damn, shit, fuck. What had I _done_?

_I just slept with my best friend, that's what_.

Running a hand through my hair absentmindedly and still clutching the blanket up to me with the other, I began to think. My eyes darted to Fred's wristwatch, which was lying on the coffee table just a foot or so away. I cocked my head to the side to read it, and almost screamed at what time it was.

Everyone would be waking up soon, and Fred and I were in the living room, butt naked and in nothing but a blanket.

I whipped around and turned to Fred, not knowing what to do. I couldn't help but smile as I looked at him sleeping there on the floor—he looked so _happy_. However, I had to cut his happiness short, seeing as if he didn't wake up _now _we would most definitely be caught.

"Fred!" I whispered into his ear as loudly as I could, and just for good measure, I shook him a little. "Fred Weasley, wake up, _now_!"

Fred rolled onto his back and his eyelids fluttered open. "Was tha'?" He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and grinned up at me. "Morning, Katesy."

"Fred, we need to get dressed _now, _or else people will come down and _see _us."

Fred rolled onto his side, and curled up around me. "Mmm, I don't care. Let 'em see."

I hit him, and tossed his shirt down at him. "Fred Weasley, put that _on_!"

Fred laughed, and thankfully, obliged. In a matter of minutes we were fully dressed, and the living room had been tidied up from last night. I kept blushing upon seeing Fred sneaking sidelong glances at me, and would turn away.

I was completely embarassed that I had slept with him last night, and felt extremely guilty. I felt confused. On one hand, it felt almost _right, _but on the other, he _was _my best friend, and I couldn't see how things would go about form here.

My heart nearly stopped when I saw Mr. Weasley, George, and Mrs. Weasley all come downstairs a moment later. Mr. Weasley had grabbed the _Daily Prophet, _a bagel, and apparated out of the kitchen with a _pop_! Mrs. Weasley began starting dinner, and George sat himself down at the table, completely oblivious to Fred and I in the living room.

"Don't you _dare_ say a word, Fred." I spoke sharply, afraid that we would ever be found out.

All Fred did was smile genuinely and lace our fingers together. "I won't if you won't." He brought our entwined hands up towards his face, and kissed the knuckles of my fingers, giving me a wink. I could feel my face heat up at this and a knot of guilt begin to form in the pit of my stomach as we made our way hand in hand to the breakfast table.

This was going to be difficult.


	17. Chapter 17

I led Katie over to the breakfast table and sat the two of us across from George. The smell of breakfast made its way to my nose, and I inhaled deeply, hearing my stomach growl.

George's eyes flicked towards our entwined hands, then up to my face—a grin still on it, no doubt. Grabbing a glass of orange juice with my free hand, I slid it over to Katie and grabbed one for myself, not wanting to look at George. I glanced at her, who was looking everywhere but my brother and I, and smiled.

Last night had been everything I had been hoping for for nearly the past year. I felt like pinching myself, worrying that last night might have been a dream, and I'd wake up in my bed at any given moment.

I heard George clear his throat rather loudly, and both Katie's and I's head snapped up. "Didn't see you upstairs when I woke up this morning, _Fred_." His eyes flicked towards Katie for the briefest of seconds, and he smiled smarmily at me. "Sleep good?" My stomach did a weird flip, and it took every ounce of strength in me from telling the whole room that I had finally shagged the girl of my dreams only hours ago.

Katie gave a surprised sound, dropped my hand as if it had just burned her own, and made a grab for her glass of orange juice. She was undoubtedly nervous that George would find out about what we had done last night, and banking on my word that I would not tell a soul what happened.

Keeping true to my word, I only smiled back at my carbon copy. "Yes, George, I _did. _Thanks for asking."

George merely cocked an eyebrow at me, and turned to Katie. "And how about you, dearie? Sleep well last night?"

Katie nearly choked on her orange juice that she had just been drinking, and brought the glass down shakily to the wooden table. "Ah, yeah, wonderfully, actually." My face bore a smile unlike any other, hoping that Katie really felt that way. I wanted more than anything for last night to have meant as much to her as it had to me, and I hoped to talk to her about it after breakfast. The trick would be to get her alone and ditch George without having things seem too suspicious to my brother. Couldn't have him figuring out about our little rendezvous last night and blabbing it to every living soul he could think of, now could I? After all, I had both Katie and my virtue to uphold now, something that should not be taken lightly.

George was about to speak again when our mother—God bless her—set down plates stacked high with breakfast foods on them in front of each of us. Our conversation, momentarily forgotten, had been interrupted by all of our empty stomachs and the need for food.

So I grabbed a fork and knife, and made quick work in cutting my eggs and bacon. I eyed Katie, who was spreading some Jam on her toast, and gave her a small smile. Her eyes caught mine, and she gave a quick smile back, and averted her eyes not a moment later.

Just a while later, after the four of us had all eaten a good amount of breakfast, my mother spoke up.

"What's that you're humming, Fred?"

My head snapped towards her, and I held my forkful of eggs midway to my mouth. "What's that, mum?"

"You were humming something, dear. You alright?" My mother wore a concerned expression, and George sniggered.

"Was I?" I shrugged, and went back to my food, but not before glancing at Katie once more. "Just happy, I s'pose."

My mother gave a warm smile and put her tea down. "Well that's good, dear. Now eat up, you looked a little flushed!"

Again, George was sniggering under his breath, so I kicked him under the table for good measure. He let out a quiet yelp that went unnoticed by anyone else, and glared at me. I pretended to not have any knowledge of what had just gone on, and stuffed some more food in my mouth.

Just a while later, the four of us had finished eating, and my mother had deposited her plate into the sink and went out to the garden for a little degnoming. Katie followed suit, got up without even glancing my way, and retrieved the remaining dishes on the table. She began washing them quietly, and I couldn't help from staring at her, feeling happy.

Thoughts swam in my head of the two of us years from now in a home of our own, just like this one. We would eat breakfast together, and she would get up and do the dishes, and I would go and get the kids outside to get some exercise in. George and Angelina would apparate in, and the four of us would bring the family out to Diagon Alley to get the kids some ice cream, or something like that.

I was broken out of my thoughts though, when George kicked me under the table. I rubbed my shin sorely, and glared at him. He simply nodded towards Katie and mouthed _what's up with the two of you, _and I simply shrugged. No sense in telling my brother after I had promised Katie I wouldn't, is there? After all, if I had dared to do such a thing, Katie would probably bring about a slow and painful death to me and whoever I had let know about last night. So it's best to just keep everyone in the dark for now, because I quite liked living. Especially if it meant that I get to spend nights like that with Katie more often.

…_...Just a while later..._

After the dished had been cleared and washed, George, Katie, and I all made our way upstairs into George and my room. George had went up ahead of us, and I grabbed Katie's hand and pulled her to the side without the knowledge of my brother.

She let out a small yelp, surprised, and looked up at me wide eyed. "What are you _doing_?" She hissed underneath her breath, throwing a weary glance up the stairs. My eyes followed suit, just to check if George was watching, and locked back onto hers moments later.

"Just wanted to say good morning, Katesy." I gave a cheeky grin and lowered my head to kiss her, but my lips met her cheek instead.

"Fred," Her voice still low and severe, she kept throwing glances towards the top of the stairs. "Honestly, have you lost your mind? You're going to give us away."

Just a little hurt by her small form of rejecting my kiss, I kept my smile plastered on my face. "You make that sound like a bad thing."

Her eyes narrowed, but I could have sworn on the ghost of Godric Gryffindor that I saw her trying not to smile. "Because it _is_."

My hands rested on her waist, and I pressed my forehead to hers. Her breathing became irregular, and my heart was pounding in my chest from the small amount of close contact. "I don't think it is, Kates." I grinned again, trying not to focus on her erratic breathing patterns. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

She huffed, and averted her eyes away from mine. "Don't."

A bit bothered by her not seeming as over the moon as I was this morning, I offered her a smile and pulled away. I would have to question her later on what she meant by that, but for now, I would just offer her my hand. "Whatever you say, dear." I heard George yell down to the two of us, wondering where we had gone, and laughed. "Wanna go see what living thing Georgie's unearthed from underneath his bed?"

Katie grinned, took my hand, and pulled me up the stairs with her to my brother and I's room.

"You two took long enough." George said, eyeing the two of us suspiciously from his bed.

Katie offered up an excuse, laughing just a bit uneasily. "Yeah, I uh, tripped." Her eyes met mine for the briefest of moments before she sat down on the floor, making herself comfortable.

George didn't seem to fully believe this, so he turned to me.

"And I just couldn't pass up laughing at the misfortunes of our dear friend."

Not too unlikely, I thought happily to myself. Katie's not exactly the world's most graceful human being to set foot. And I, being one half of the Weasley twins, could never pass up laughing at the expense of other people's embarassment. George seemed to accept this white lie, and shrugged indifferently after a moment of silently judging us from his bed.

"Anyways, Fred, c'mon over here for a sec. I think I figured out what's been missing from our Fever Fudge."

And that was how the rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent between the three of us.

…_...Just before lunchtime..._

Thankfully, Fred had kept to his word about not telling a single soul. I knew that he wouldn't betray me, but my one doubt lay with one person—his brother, George. The two of them shared _everything _together, and I knew that Fred must be itching to tell his other half about shagging me last night in their living room. I would without a doubt become the laughing stock of the two of them for the rest of my days, and even after that, if possible. Mrs. Weasley would never allow me in her home again, and Ginny would without a doubt never let me live down the fact that she was right, and I did in fact fancy Fred.

_Stop that, I do _not _fancy Fred._

I fancied my best friend.

Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap, damn, shit, fuck. And I couldn't even help the fact that every time he looked over at me—which was quite often, thank you very much—I couldn't help but feel my stomach do all kinds of twists and turns and my heart skip a beat.

But this wasn't supposed to happen, I thought to myself as I twiddled with my wand on the floor of the boys' room. I wasn't supposed to fall for my best friend. Hell, I wasn't supposed to fall for _anybody_ anymore—no, not after Roger sodding-Davies had ripped my heart out and stomped all over it.

Okay, so I was a bit dramatic today. But hey, what more could you ask from a girl in my shoes?

"You okay, Kates?" My head snapped up towards Fred and George, the latter being the one who spoke to me.

I nodded, and waved them off. "Just doing a bit of thinking is all. Carry on."

George chuckled. "Yeah, and we all know what a laborous process that is for _you_."

I stuck my tongue out at him and threw an old tennis shoe that was lying around at George, hitting him square in the head. He grunted, threw me a half laughing-half scowling look and went back to flipping through some papers on his bed.

Fred was busy trying not to laugh at the exchange between George and I. He winked at me, and went back to jotting things down in a notebook of his, half listening to George. My stomach felt like it was in my throat when he winked.

Damn you to the deepest pits of hell, stomach. Stop _doing _that whenever _Fred _looks at me. Just stop it.

But I couldn't. I shouldn't have fallen for him, but I did. I shouldn't let my heart skip a beat whenever I found him looking at me for longer than necessary, but I did.

I shouldn't have shagged him, but I did.

"Katie! Fred, George! There's somewhere here for you three, come down!" Mrs. Weasley's voice echoed up towards the room the three of us were occupying at the moment, and all of our heads cocked to the side when we heard this. Someone here to see the three of us? Who?

We raced down the stairs, pushing one another out of the way, trying to beat the rest down the stairs to see our surprise.

Somehow I had managed to squeeze my way past the two of them, and skidded into the kitchen, triumphantly laughing. I heard one of the boys moan in agitation, claiming that I cheated somehow and about a rematch later.

I heard someone clear their throat, and I looked up in shock.

"Nice to see you haven't changed."

And in an instant I had flown over to Angelina, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Angie!" I cried, bobbing up and down excitedly. "Oh my God, I've missed you! How are you, when did you get here, we need to _talk_!"

Fred was laughing behind me suddenly, and I jumped away from Angelina, swatting him in the chest for sneaking up on me.

"Let the lady _breathe, _Bell." George was smirking from behind me, giving Angelina a sly wink. She blushed like crazy, but cleared her throat and enveloped the two boys in another bone crushing hug.

I was busy making kissing motions and sappy faces at George, who in turn gave me the finger behind Angelina's back.

"So," Fred said later, after the four of us had sat down at the table with some lemonade to go around. "not that it matters, darling Angelina, but what brings _you _here?" Fred wiggled his eyebrows at George, who was busy trying to ignore his twin and act indifferent around Angelina.

Angelina turned to Fred and took a swig of her lemonade. "Well, seeing as Katie's my best friend and the fact that I haven't seen you three all summer, I figured: Why not come over and spend some time with you lot?"

I laughed under my breath when I noticed George wouldn't take his eyes off of Angelina, and I nearly choked on my lemonade when I saw Fred doing the same thing to me.

So the rest of the afternoon was spent with the four of us catching up, fooling around, and wandering about the Burrow together.

By the time it was dark out, Angelina had dragged me along to go see Mrs. Weasley.

"Hello, dear, staying for some dinner?"

Angelina smiled at the short woman, and nodded. "Yeah, sure Mrs. Weasley, sounds great." She glanced over her shoulder to look for the boys before speaking. I followed her gaze to find the two of them levitating garden gnomes in the backyard. "I was actually coming here to ask you a favor."

Mrs. Weasley looked up from the arrangement of pots and pans she was searching through. "Yes, dear, what is it?"

"Well, seeing as I haven't seen Katie for a few months, I was wondering if she could spend the last three days of summer with me and my family." Angelina threw a glance my way to make sure that this was okay with me before continuing, and I nodded. "You know, since it's almost the end of summer, and I've been dying to be with her."

Mrs. Weasley padded forward and patted both of our cheeks in a motherly way. "Sure thing, dears. Now, out of the kitchen with you two, I've got a dinner to get going on."

Angelina grinned at the short, stout woman before us and linked arms with mine, chattering away to the backyard where the boys were at.

"What was that about, Ange? We'll be back at Hogwarts in three days together, why do you want me at your house now?" Secretly I was a little upset that she was taking me away from the Burrow. Next to Hogwarts, this place had become another home to me. That, and I would miss Fred.

But maybe that was a good thing. Maybe I _should _leave here to clear my head of him. Perhaps this whole shagging and fancying my best friend thing would just blow over, and things would go back to normal once I was back at the castle with my friends.

"Yeah, and so will _they,_" She said, gesturing to the boys. Fred was busy trying to hit George with a gnome, and George was trying to defend himself with only a bucket and his wand. George was losing.

I nodded my head, still not taking my eyes off of Fred. This was getting ridiculous, but I knew she was right. The two of us had a _lot _of filling in to do with one another. Angelina needed to be filled in about what happened between Fred and I last night.

…_...After dessert that night..._

"You know, they just need to snog or something. There's just two much sexual tension between the two of them—it's not healthy." I cocked my head towards my brother and Angelina, who were sitting rather snugly on the couch in the living room.

I heard Katie snort, and she turned around to give me a look. "Right, because you're _just _the person to be giving out advice on something like that."

I grinned, following her closely behind. She led me to Ginny's room. "You know," I breathed down her neck, causing her to jump a little. "I think I _am _the person to come to for that. I don't hear you complaining after last night."

Katie spun around to face me, making shushing noises and hitting me. "Fred, shut up! Do you _want _your whole family to know what happened?"

Grinning wickedly, I wiggled my brows at her. "I already told you that I don't care who knows, Kates."

For a moment she seemed to almost consider what I was saying, but shoved me lightly and walked to the other end of the room. "Yeah, well I _do_." I sat down on her makeshift bed, making myself comfortable. "Toss me that, will you?" She said, pointing to an Appleby Arrows pair of shorts that was laying by my feet.

I obliged, and she caught it easily, stuffing one thing after another into her trunk. She continued this for a while, and finding myself bored, I came up from behind and snaked my hands around her waist, resting my chin on her shoulder. She squeaked, and I could tell her breathing had changed. So had mine.

"I'm bored," I sighed, making sure to breath a little on her neck. She stiffened, and I grinned. "wanna finish what we started last night?"

Katie cocked her head a little to look at me, her eyes wide. "Fred," She said, turning around in my hold of her to get a better look at me. "you _know _I don't want anyone to find out about us!"

Rolling my eyes at her, I pressed my forehead to hers in a similar fashion to earlier today. Her breath caught in her throat, and she glared at me. "That may be, but I know that you wouldn't mind having a little fun!" So I threw the two of us down onto the nearest bed. She yelped, and tried to pry herself away from me, but I just hardened my hold on her and laughed at the look she was giving me. I pecked her on the corner of her mouth quickly, and winked.

"We're not going to be having any _fun_, Fred." She said, still trying to pry away from me. "Not especially on your _sister's _bed." I rolled my eyes, and was about to let her go when a wicked thought popped into my head: Katie Bell hated to be tickled.

So, being Fred Weasley, what did I do? I began to tickle her.

The poor girl couldn't stop squirming and laughing from underneath my tickle assault, which only made me laugh harder. She was just too much fun to tease. After the two of us were spent and gasping for air from too much laughing, I rolled to the side and sat up. Katie followed suit and glared at me, but kept a grin on her face.

"You know, Kates, I can't help but to wonder what kind of _fun _you thought we were going to have on Ginny's bed." I waggled my brows suggestively at her which turned her scarlet. She hastily jumped off the bed and began throwing things in her trunk again.

"Sodding pervert." I heard her mumble. I barked a laugh, and tossed a pillow at the back of her head.

"That may be, but at least I'm _your _sodding pervert." This caused her to grab the nearest thing to her and throw it back at me, which I thankfully dodged, seeing as it was a heavy book. Who knew that either her or my sister loved to read that much.

So for a while I watched her comfortably from Ginny's bed putting more and more things inside of her trunk and bag. I decided to speak up. "You know Kates, term doesn't start for another three days. What're you doing packing up already?"

I saw the short girl bite her lip and turn away from me. "I'm gonna go stay at Angelina's."

Okay, so I wasn't expecting that. I crossed the room to sit next to her, leaning against her trunk. "Well what're you gonna do that for?" I was kind of hurt by this. Didn't she like it here anymore?

She still wouldn't look at me, and tried busying herself with folding a pair of socks. "Katie..." Still, she wouldn't even look my way. "Katie, look at me." She was still fiddling with her socks.

I leaned forward and took them from her, tossing them aside. Finally she brought her eyes up to meet mine.

"Did I... Did I do something wrong?" I knew it. Today was going too well for it to end that way. Not even twenty four hours ago were the best thing that ever happened to me, but now I thought it to be the worst. What if I had mucked things up forever between the two of us?

But the look in her eyes told me something different. She was hesitating to speak, something Katie _never _did, but her eyes were telling me something.

She _did _enjoy our time together—she had said so herself. I was over thinking things and probably second guessing myself. Things would work out... They had to.

"No," She spoke softly, almost to the point I couldn't hear her. "no, you didn't do anything wrong."

But she cast her eyes downward, and suddenly I wasn't so sure of myself anymore.


	18. Chapter 18

Being with Angelina was different than being at the Burrow the past few months. Whether it was better or not I've still yet to decide.

By the time I had finished packing my things and left with Angelina I felt as if I had done something I wasn't supposed to do. Almost like a child who takes a cookie before dinner when an adult tells them not to. Angelina hadn't stopped talking from the moment we got alone until now. She had run to the kitchen to grab us something to eat while I sat in her room playing absentmindedly with my hair.

"_I guess I'll see you on the train then?"_

_I didn't look up at Fred as he spoke to me. Guilt was gnawing at my insides from the moment I told him I'd be going back with Angelina. I knew it was unfair to him with how I was acting, but honestly, I don't think I could have helped it if I tried. I didn't trust my voice, so I nodded as a response to his question. _

_I saw his feet shuffle. I knew this must be awkward for him. Fred didn't have to treat me special just because I had screwed up and seduced him into shagging me. He probably felt like he owed it to me seeing as how good of friends we are—or is it were, now? Had I really mucked things up between us?_

_Either way I knew I was doing us both a favor by acting the way I have been. If I show Fred that I don't care maybe he'll get the hint and stop being extra nice to me just because we shagged. Then things can go back to normal and we can all be friends again. _

_And maybe I can see that I don't have feelings for him, either. _

"_I'll, uh, save you a seat then." His voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I peeked up at him. _

"_Yeah, that'd be, er, nice. Thanks." _

_Fred shrugged and flashed me a smile. "Listen, Katie—"_

"—are you even listening to me?"

I looked up at to see Angelina standing there with her arms full of snacks and drinks for us. She looked irritated and then worry flashed across her face.

I shrugged and she threw the food down on her bed and walked over to my spot on the floor. She plopped down and stared at me for a long moment.

"Katie, you've been acting strange lately. Are you alright?"

Knowing that this question was coming sooner or later, I made a non-committal sound. Angelina sighed grumpily and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're going to tell me what's going on, Bell. Why else do you think I had you come stay with me before school?"

I opened my mouth to protest—to at least _try _and sound like I had no idea what she was talking about, but the look on her face told me that she wouldn't believe any excuse I would come up with.

The truth it is, then.

…_.The Burrow..._

"I just don't know if asking Angelina out right now would be the best time, y'know?"

I nodded to show that I was listening and continued playing with some loose strings in the rug on our floor. George hadn't stopped talking about Angelina ever since the girls had left earlier today. I had stopped listening to him about an hour ago.

What had I done wrong? Katie was clearly not acting as I thought she would after what had happened between the two of us. Weren't girls supposed to be happy and excited and all mushy when something that intimate happens? Surely they weren't supposed to be as standoffish and bipolar as Katie was being about the whole thing.

Clearly I was missing something important here.

_I had thought I was over thinking things up until about two seconds ago. After I had asked Katie if I had done anything to upset her, she had told me that I didn't do anything wrong. _

_The look on her face told another story. _

"_Katie, look, I—" But I was interrupted by Angelina poking her head into Ginny's room where the two of us sat. _

_Katie had scooted away from me. Apparently we were sitting too close for her liking. _

_Angelina looked between the two of us curiously and then gave me a sad look. What in Merlin's beard was _that _for? _

"_You about ready to go, Katie? My mum just flooed over here and is waiting for us."_

_I looked over at Katie waiting for her to respond. She didn't._

_Instead of making things any more awkward than need be I decided to stand up and make my way out of the room. "She's all yours, Ange. I'm just gonna pop out and say hi to your mum and make sure George isn't making too big a fool of himself in front of her."_

_Angelina's eyes widened and she mouthed a 'thank you' to me. I laughed and made my way out of the room to go find George. _

"You're not even listening, are you?"

George's voice snapped me out of whatever stupor I was in and I looked up at him. He was staring at me for who knows how long and now I felt like an idiot.

"Er, not really, no." I gave him a sheepish look and went back to playing with the loose parts of the rug. "You have my full attention now, though." I cast him a goofy grin, but I knew it was halfhearted. By the look on my brother's face, he did, too.

I heard George give a heavy sigh and toss something at my head. Dirty socks, probably, or an old shirt that needed washing. "You're hopeless, y'know that?"

I shrugged my shoulders in response, not knowing how to answer that. In truth, his words stung a bit. Maybe I _was _hopeless. Katie didn't care about me, right? I was just another shag.

The bed creaked and I knew George had gotten up, probably to talk to me. He knew something was wrong. We always knew when the other was off.

Before I knew it, Ginny had popped into the room to tell us lunch was ready. Bless her.

"Last one down to the kitchen has to de-gnome the garden before school!" I shouted gleefully as I flew out of the room. I heard George laugh and run behind me down the stairs.

…_.On the train..._

Angelina and I had gotten to King's Cross extra early that morning, after owling Alicia to do the same last night. After I filled her in on everything, she felt that I needed another opinion after I had scoffed at her advice and shut her out. After a lot of protesting and pillows being flung back and forth between us, she won, and I agreed to talking to Alicia about it.

Two heads were better than one, right?

After putting our luggage away and saying goodbye to her parents, the two of us made our way onto the train. The familiarity of it made me both uneasy and comforted. We passed by the trolly lady, bought some things from her, and passed by a few friends and soon to be first years who didn't want to be late. After finding our usual car, she shoved me in and made me sit by the window so I couldn't escape. I gave her a halfhearted glare and sighed dramatically to show my disinterest in the upcoming conversation that would be taking place.

Angelina snorted, but before she could speak, we heard Alicia laughing airily and plopping down into her seat.

"Sorry about that, I'm not too late, right?"

Angelina just shook her head and reached over to close the door. "No, you're just on time." She shot me a threatening look, daring me to speak up, and I just looked out the window like an impotent child.

This would be a long morning.

…_.The Burrow..._

"All of you better get down here now or you'll be late!" Mum screeched from the living room. "If you're not down here in ten seconds you're as good as—"

"We're coming, Mum!" I heard Ron bellow from the stairs. He was dragging his trunk behind him and nearly fell down the stairs doing so.

"Me too!" Ginny joined in, and by the sound of it, she was already down there.

George and I shared a knowing look, and grabbed our things and made our way downstairs before we gave our mother a heart attack. We couldn't be late, after all. What fun would that be?

Just before we reached the rest of the family, though, I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and knew that George was about to say something.

I cast a glance over my shoulder and waited for him to speak.

"Look, just talk to her, alright? Maybe she was having an off day." I nodded, and slapped him on the back appreciatively. Last night George had restored my confidence, and I had promised to give Katie and I another shot. She _could _have been having an off day, I knew that. I also knew Katie, and I knew that it was probably more than that, though.

…_.The train..._

"Katie Bell, I can't _believe _you! The nerve!" Alicia shrieked, jumping up angrily. "You _shag _Fred Weasley, and you wait to tell me until _now_?! What kind of friend _are _you?!"

Angelina laughed, but quieted after Alicia practically snarled at her. I gulped, and tried to calm the girl down before she hexed me.

"Now, 'Lic, I meant to tell you, but how would you feel if I had put that in an _owl_? '_Right, 'Lic, hope you're having a smashing summer, things have been great here, oh, by the way, I shagged Fred. Best of wishes, and I can't wait to see you soon!' _Splendid, right?"

At this, Alicia calmed come, and plopped down next to me. "Katie, I'm mad about that, but I'll get over it. I'm just mad I was stuck vacationing with my parents all holiday."

I sighed in relief, but Alicia wasn't done yet.

"_However, _you need to fix things with Fred. By the sound of it, he likes you just as much, if not _more _than you like him, sweetie."

Angelina made a sound of agreement in the back, and opened up a pouch of Berty Bott's beans.

I knew they'd be on the same side. And I knew they were both right. I just couldn't bear to hurt Fred, and I'm afraid that I've already done enough of that. How would I even _talk _to him now? _Hey, Fred, nice to see you. Sorry for shagging you like that back at your house, but I think I'm in love with you and I don't want this to make our friendship awkward, so let's just forget this whole thing and go hex some Slytherins, alright?_ Peachy.

I looked up at two of my best friends' faces, and I knew that they were sincere. They wouldn't lie to me, and I know that they just want what's best for me. _And for Fred, _a voice chirped in the back of my mind. I nodded, and pulled them each into a hug.

"Are we interrupting anything, ladies?" Just then we were joined by two red heads who poked their freckled faces into the doorway.

"Or maybe we could come back later." One of the two piped in. Angelina shot a glare, so I assumed it was George who spoke.

"What are you two wankers talking about? We should join in!" I heard Lee's voice pop into the conversation, and I laughed as we all pulled away from one another to make room for the boys. One by one they filed in, and I noticed that they all made it perfectly clear that I was either infected with Dragon Pox, or that the seat next to me was meant for Fred.

I looked up and caught him staring down at me, an easy smile on his face. "Is this seat taken, milady?"

I found myself staring, as well as the rest of our friends in our car—who quickly went back to minding their own business—and cleared my throat.

"N-no, you can sit there." Fred nodded and sat down.

Everyone was trying as hard as they could to talk to each other and ignore us, being extra loud and even more animated than they usually are. Idiots.

An uncomfortable silence filled between Fred and I. He was busy bouncing his leg up and down, a nervous habit of his. I turned to him, opened my mouth to speak, but now words came out. I ducked my head and fiddled with my fingers, feeling stupid. Who knows how much time had passed with us sitting together in silence.

…_.Fred's POV..._

Merlin, this was uncomfortable. How do you even talk to the girl you're in love with when she can hardly look at you and you're stuck in a train car with four of your best friends chattering loudly and obnoxiously?

I looked over at Katie after she tried to speak to me. What was she going to say? Does she feel the same as I do, or does she want nothing to do with me?

She was fiddling with her fingers, a nervous habit of hers, I noticed, and I found a smile tug at my lips.

Gathering up the courage I knew I possessed, I turned to Katie and cleared my throat. "Can I, er, talk to you?" She looked up at me, still twiddling with her fingers, and waited for me to continue. I looked back over my shoulder, and then back to her. "Alone?"

She cast her eyes down and nodded, following me out of the care. The moment we stepped away from our friends, it had quieted, and I knew that they were talking about us. I led her to a quieter section of the train, where less people were, and stopped. I released a breath I hadn't known I was holding.

"Listen, Katie, I wanted to talk to you."

She looked up at me and smiled. "Yeah, I never would have guessed otherwise."

Sarcasm. Good, so things weren't completely ruined between the two of us at least. This made me feel ten times better, so I continued.

"Look, about the thing between us at the Burrow—" But before I could continue, she held up a hand and cut me off.

"Fred, look, before I let you finish, I just wanted to apologize." Apologize? For what, acting like it meant nothing and practically ignoring me? An uneasy feeling filled my stomach, and I nodded to show that she should continue.

…_.Katie's POV..._

I took a deep breath, ready to continue. Merlin, this wouldn't be easy. Please don't let him be mad.

"I just want to say that I'm sorry for, er, _shagging _you, Fred." Somehow I got the nerve to look up at him, and I saw his face fall. God, this was hard. Why did he make me feel like this? This didn't feel right, apologizing to him after what we did, but I knew it was right. It had to be. I couldn't lose my best friend. "I don't know what I was thinking, and it just sort of _happened_."

By the time I had finished, my voice was shaking. No, this definitely wasn't easy. But it was too late to take anything back.

…_.Fred's POV..._

That was it. Just like that, in the couple of seconds it took to have Katie speak, I felt my stomach drop. A buzzing filled my head, and I felt my throat closing up.

_That whole thing meant nothing to her. You idiot, how could you think she liked you back?_

_Don't listen to him, idiot! Remember what I told you last night? _Talk _to her, she's your best friend. Right after me, of course, but let's open up that can of worms later. Don't get discouraged, brother, man up and _talk _to her. _

I shook my head to rid it of the voices arguing. I looked down at Katie and saw her looking anywhere but me. _Good sign, right?_

"No, it didn't." I was surprised at my own voice and how calm it was. Katie looked up at me startled, and I could tell she was close to crying. "It didn't _just happen, _Kates, and you know it."

She opened her mouth to speak, but I kept talking. "You might be ashamed of what happened the other night, but Merlin, I'm not. That was one of the best things to happen to me, and I'll be damned if I hear you say that _you're sorry _for it." I took a step closer to her, and she backed up. "You wanted to sleep with me just as much as I wanted to sleep with you. That doesn't change anything."

By now, Katie was crying, and she let out a choked laugh through her tears. "Doesn't _change _anything? Of course it changes things, Fred! It changes _everything_!" She wiped her tears away furiously and shook her head.

"It doesn't change that it happened! It happened, and it mattered, and it's done. You've been ignoring me and made me feel like a complete wanker for thinking that—for thinking that—"

She was still crying, but she looked up at me, almost angrily. "For thinking _what_, Fred?"

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. It didn't help. "It doesn't matter. You're scared of something, Katie, and I want to know what it is. I know you've been avoiding me, and it's driving me crazy not knowing why. Just tell me what I've done so I can _fix it_!"

This seemed to make her even angrier and upset than she had been just a moment ago. She choked back a sob before she started yelling at me.

"You didn't _do _anything wrong! It was me, okay? _I _screwed up, not you. I was stupid and screwed up and didn't know what I was doing. I shagged you because I _love you_, you idiot. And then I got scared. I was scared and didn't want things ruined between us! I didn't want to lose my best friend!"

And just like that, it's as if the whole world slowed down around us. We were arguing in the train on the way back to school, and the next moment, my best friend—the girl I'm _in love with—_confesses that she's in love with me. I didn't know what to do with myself. My whole body felt both numb and jolting with electricity after hearing this.

I looked down at Katie and saw that she was still crying. It was like the night I found her in the common room when she told me her parents had died.

It struck me then that this had more to do with losing her best friend. It went back to her losing her parents.

Seeing her like this made my stomach drop even further than I thought possible. But it didn't stop me from telling her how I felt. It wouldn't.

"Katie, stop crying." This made her sniffle louder. I lowered my voice and took another step forward. She didn't move. "Kates, please, stop crying."

She had calmed down some, and looked up at me through watery eyes.

_This is it, Fred. It's all or nothing_.

"When I first met you, Kates, you were just a little second year. You were tiny, and spunky, and never let anyone intimidate you." I smiled, recalling George and I giving her her first detention. "And you really haven't changed too much, since then, to be honest." I took another breath, and pushed myself to continue. "And over the years, I got to know you more and more. We've stuck together through Quidditch matches and Wood's hellish practices. I've watched you grow up, and I've watched you shine from the inside out. You've always had a certain light about you, Kates. Like the sun or something." I laughed a little, and it calmed me down some. Not much, because there were still butterflies in my stomach, but it made me feel like I was finally doing the right thing. "And then I watched you go out with that wanker, Davies." Katie had darkened a bit at this, but she had finally stopped crying and was looking at me earnestly.

I took a step forward, and this time, she didn't budge.

"And then, when you weren't with him anymore, I felt like maybe I had a chance. Maybe if I showed you that I could be there for you more, if I showed you that I could be different, you'd give me the time of day."

_This it it, _I thought. Right now, Fred, just _do it_.

"And before I knew it, Katie, I had fallen in love with you. I still _am _in love with you."

And there it was, just like that. Everything that had transpired between the two of us recently seemed to build up to this moment right here, and I knew that somehow, _this _is how it was supposed to happen. I don't know how or why, or even _how _to explain it, but I knew that it was _right. _

Katie seemed shocked, to say the least. Like she had been petrified, or something. She was staring blankly ahead, and I knew that she must be thinking _something_. What, I don't know, but I had hoped it was good.

It had to be.

And then the unexpected happened. As I was waiting for her to speak and she was presumably waiting for _me _to speak, we heard someone shout at us from a little ways down the hall.

"Oi, would you two just _kiss _already?" Both of our heads snapped to the voice simultaneously, and we both were startled to see our group of friends and a few other students poking their heads out of their compartments, waiting expectantly.

I looked back down at Katie and cracked a grin.

"Well then, shall we give our audience a little show, m'dear?"

Katie laughed gleefully and gave me a devilish grin. "I think that's exactlywhat we should do, Mr. Weasley."

And just like that, at the same moment, the two of us were tangled up together, lost in the other. I faintly remember hearing wolf whistles and cat calls, and maybe even a few galleons being passed around filled with '_I told you so's'._

* * *

**Author's Note: It's been well over a year for this to be updated and finished, and there's no excuse for my absence. The only thing I can say is that I'm sorry for the long wait, and give you my condolences. Truth be told, this chapter is a little short, and to be frank, I hate it. I know it was kind of a cop-out way to end this story, especially after everything that has gone on with it, but it had to be ended one way or another and this was the only way I could get through some major writer's block with this story and get something out. Hate me, hate this story, like it, do whatever, but leave a review. I should be back to posting more soon, but I won't be posting works in progress any longer. I'll only be putting up finished pieces so I don't run into any writers block and go on year-long hiatuses any longer. Have a lovely day/night!**


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